- Jan 8 Felix Körling, Swedish sacred and children's music composer, dies at 72
- Feb 14 Erkki Melartin, Finnish composer (Juhlamarssi; Summer Symphony; Fantasia Apocaliptica), dies at 62
- Mar 2 Gustav Wohlgemuth, German composer, dies at 73
- Mar 11 Paul Scheinpflug, composer, dies at 61
- Mar 12 Charles-Marie Widor, French organist (Saint-Sulpice, 1870-1933), composer (10 organ symphonies), and professor (American Conservatory at Fontainebleau, 1921-34), dies at 93
- Mar 12 Jenő Hubay [Huber], Hungarian violinist, composer, and educator (Budapest Conservatory, 1886-1934), dies at 78
- Mar 29 Karol Szymanowski, Polish pianist and composer (Symphony No. 3 - Song Of The Night), dies of tuberculosis at 54
- Apr 8 Arthur Foote, American classical organist, composer, and member of the "Boston Six" (Suite for Strings in E), dies at 84
- Apr 8 William Henry Hadow, British educational reformer and musicologist (Oxford History of Music, Studies in Modern Music), dies at 77
- Apr 10 Algernon Ashton, British composer, dies at 77
- Apr 15 Nikolai Artzibushev, Russian jurist and composer, dies at 79
- May 2 Arthur Somervell, English composer, dies at 73
- May 4 Noel Rosa, Brazilian guitrist, mandolin player, and songwriter, dies of tuberculosis at 26
- May 11 Viliam Figuš-Bystrý, Slovak composer, dies at 62
- Jun 2 Louis Vierne, French organist (Notre-Dame, 1900-37), and composer (Messe solennelle), dies at the console at 66
- Jul 10 Attilio Brugnoli, Italian pianist and composer, dies at 56
George Gershwin (1898-1937)
Jul 11 American composer (An American in Paris, Porgy And Bess, Summertime), dies from a brain tumor at 38
- Jul 17 Henri-Constant-Gabriel Pierne, French composer, dies at 73
- Jul 28 Muslim Magomayev, Azerbaijani-Soviet composer, dies at 51
- Aug 23 Albert Roussel, French composer (Rapsodie Flamande), dies at 68
- Sep 4 Giovanni Salviucci, Italian composer, dies at 29
- Sep 6 Henry Kimball Hadley, American composer (Bianca; Streets of Pekin), and conductor (San Francisco Symphony, 1915-18), dies of cancer at 65
- Sep 23 Caro Roma [Carrie Northey], American composer and singer, dies at 68
- Sep 26 Bessie Smith, American blues singer known as the "Empress of the Blues" (recorded over 200 songs), dies of injuries sustained in car crash at 43
- Oct 9 August de Boeck, Flemish composer, dies at 72
- Oct 22 Frank Damrosch, German-born American author and music teacher (founded New York Musical Institute of Musical Art, later Julliard), dies at 88
- Nov 2 Maude Valérie White, French-born English composer, dies at 82
- Nov 4 Rogelio del Villar, Spanish composer, dies at 61
- Nov 23 Louis Victor Saar, Dutch-American composer, dies at 68
- Dec 26 Ivor Gurney, English composer and poet, dies of tuberculosis at 47
Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)
Dec 28 French composer, pianist and conductor (Daphnis et Chloé; Boléro), dies at 62
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