- Jan 11 Aureliano Pertile, Italian tenor, dies at 66
- Jan 14 Artur Kapp, Estonian composer (Peace Symphony; Paradise and Peri), and educator, dies at 73
- Jan 20 Arthur Farwell, American composer, dies at 74
- Feb 2 Johann Babtist Thaller, German composer, dies at 79
- Feb 13 Alfred Einstein, German-American musicologist (Mozart catalogue revision), dies at 71
- Mar 5 Vladimir Shcherbachov, Soviet-Russian composer (Blokovskaya; The Thunderstorm), and professor (Leningrad Conservatory; Tbilisi Conservatory), dies at 63
- Mar 22 "Uncle" Dave Macon, American vaudeville and Grand Ole Opry banjo player, singer-songwriter and comedian, dies at 81
- Apr 11 Wadih Sabra, Lebanese composer (Kulluna lil Watan), dies at 76
- Apr 23 Elisabeth Schumann, German soprano, dies at 63
- Apr 30 Charles Radoux-Rogier, Belgian composer, dies at 74
- May 6 Alberto Savinio [Andrea Francesco Alberto de Chirico], Italian composer (Capitano Ulisse), dies at 60
- May 11 Giovanni Tebaldini, Italian composer, dies at 87
- May 15 Italo Montemezzi, Italian composer (L'amore dei tre re), dies at 76
- May 18 Rossetter Gleason Cole, American composer (Heroes of Freedom), dies at 86
- May 23 Georg Alfred Schumann, German composer, dies at 85
- May 28 Joseph Lauber, Swiss concert pianist and composer, dies at 87
- Jun 9 Adolf Busch, German-Swiss violinist (Busch Quartet, 1920-51), conductor (Lucerne Festival; Marlboro Festival), and composer, dies at 60
- Jun 14 John Kirby [Kirk], American jazz double-bassist and tuba player (Benny Goodman; "Undecided"), dies at 43
- Jun 17 Alberto Williams, Argentine pianist and composer (Etrerno Reposo), dies at 89
- Jun 18 Heinrich Schlusnus, German baritone, dies at 63
- Jun 24 Lodewijk Mortelmans, Belgian composer (Morgenstemming - Morning Mood), dies at 84
- Jul 2 Henriëtte Bosmans, Dutch cellist, pianist and composer, dies at 56
- Jul 3 Daniel Zamudio, Colombian organist, composer and folklorist, dies at 64
- Jul 3 Henriëtte Bosmans, Dutch composer, dies of cancer at 56
- Jul 10 Rued Immanuel Langgaard, Danish composer and organist (Music of the Spheres; Antikrist), dies at 58
- Jul 22 Antonio Maria Valencia, Colombian composer, dies at 49
- Jul 25 Herbert Murrill, British organist, composer (The Song of the Birds; Carillon), and educator (Royal Academy of Music, 1933-52), dies of cancer at 43
- Jul 27 W de Basil [US Voskresenski], Russian ballet dancer, dies
- Aug 11 Riccardo Martin, American tenor and composer, dies at 77
Gertrude Lawrence (1898-1952)
Sep 6 English actress (Mimi, Rembrandt) and musical performer, dies of liver and abdominal cancer at 54
- Sep 6 Jose Forns y Cuadras, Spanish composer and teacher, dies at 54
- Sep 28 Paul Hastings Allen, American composer, dies at 68
- Oct 24 Frederick Jacobi, American composer, dies at 61
- Oct 25 Sergei Bortkiewicz, Ukranian composer, dies at 75
- Nov 23 Albert van Raalte, Dutch conductor (AVRO - Dutch Radio Orchestra, 1928-40), dies at 62
- Nov 25 Antonio Guarnieri, Italian cellist and opera conductor (La Scala, 1929-50), dies at 72
- Nov 25 Jean-Fernand Vaubourgoin, French composer (Ophellia), dies at 71
- Dec 14 (Olav) Fartein Valen, Norwegian composer, pianist, polyglot, and rosarian, dies at 65
- Dec 29 Beryl Rubinstein, American pianist and composer, dies at 54
Fletcher Henderson (1897-1952)
Dec 29 American pianist, bandleader, composer, and arranger (Benny Goodman Orchestra), dies at 55 [1]
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