Musicians Who Died on September 2

  • 1397 Francesco Landini, Italian organist, composer, poet, and instrument maker, dies at about 72
  • 1715 Constantin Christian Dedekind, German composer and poet, dies at 87
  • 1800 Prince Maciej Radziwiłł, Polish-Lithuanian nobleman, composer and librettist, dies at 50
  • 1870 Arthur Saint-Leon, French composer and dancer, dies at 48
  • 1891 Ferdinand Christian Wilhelm Praeger, Dutch-British pianist, composer, composer, and writer (Wagner As I Knew Him), dies at 76
  • 1902 Iosif Ivanovici, Romanian military bandleader and composer (Waves of the Danube), dies (b. 1845)
  • 1934 (Alcide) "Yellow" Nunez, American New Orleans jazz clarinetist, dies of a heart attack at 50 [1]
  • 1934 (Ruggiero) "Russ" Columbo, American pop baritone singer ("You Call It Madness, But I Call It Love"), songwriter ("Prisoner of Love"), actor (Wake Up And Dream), and violinist, is accidentally shot to death at 26
  • 1955 Rudolf Kattnigg, Austrian composer, dies at 60
  • 1961 Greet Koeman, Dutch opera soprano, dies at 54
  • 1970 Kees van Baaren, Dutch composer (Hollow Men), dies at 63
  • 1980 William Douglas Denny, American composer, dies at 70
  • 1981 Tadeusz Baird, Polish composer (Four Essays; Psychodrama; Voices From Afar), co-founder of Warsaw Autumn festival, and educator, dies at 53
  • 1986 Benny Payne, American jazz pianist (Cab Calloway; Billy Daniels Show), dies at 78 or 79 [some sources cite date as January 2]
  • 1986 Philip Radcliffe, English composer, dies at 81
  • 1994 Roy Castle, English dancer, actor and tv presenter (Dr Who & the Daleks), dies of lung cancer at 62
  • 1995 Vaclav Neummann, Czech conductor, dies at 74
  • 1996 Cyril Reuben, Welsh classical and session violinist (London Symphony), dies at 69
  • 1996 Ljuba Welitsch, opera singer, dies at 83
  • 1996 Otto Luening, German American conductor, composer and electronic music pioneer (Sonority Canon), dies at 96
  • 1997 Rudolf Bing, Austrian-born opera impresario (NY Metropolitan Opera manager, 1950-72), dies of complication of Alzheimer's disease and respiratory failure at 95
  • 2000 Elvera Sanchez, Puerto Rican dancer (b. 1905)
  • 2001 Jay Migliori, American saxophonist (Supersax), dies at 70
  • 2003 Bruce Waibel, American touring and session rock bassist (Gregg Allman; Firehouse), takes his own life at 45
  • 2006 Willi Ninja [William Leake], American dancer and choreographer (Paris Is Burning), dies of AIDS-related heart failure at 45
  • 2006 [Jean-Josephat] Clermont Pépin, Canadian pianist and composer (Implosion Symphony), dies of liver cancer at 80
  • 2006 [Walter] Dewey Redman, American jazz saxophonist, dies of liver failure at 75
  • 2007 David "Fritz" Fryer, British pop guitarist and songwriter (The Four Pennies -"Juliet"), dies of pancreatic cancer at 62
  • 2007 Rajae Belmlih, Moroccan singer, dies of breast cancer at 45
  • 2009 Guy Babylon, American keyboard player (Elton John) and arranger dies at 52
  • 2012 Emanuel Nunes, Portuguese composer, dies at 71
  • 2012 Mark Abrahamian, American rock guitarist (Starship, 2000-12), dies of a heart attack after a concert at 46
  • 2015 Donny Conn, American musician (The Playmates), dies at 85
  • 2017 Dave Hlubek, American rock guitarist (Molly Hatchet), dies at 66
  • 2017 Halim El-Dabh, Egyptian-American pianist, darabukha drummer, and composer (Martha Graham ballet scores), dies at 96
  • 2018 Conway Savage, Australian piano and organ player (Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds), dies from a brain tumor at 58 [1]
  • 2020 Ian Mitchell, Irish rocker (Bay City Rollers), dies at 62
  • 2021 Michel Corboz, Swiss conductor (founded L’Ensemble Vocal de Lausanne, 1961), dies at 87
  • 2021 Mikis Theodorakis, Greek classical and film music composer (Zorba the Greek; Mauthausen Trilogy; Serpico), dies of cardiopulmonary arrest at 96