Events in Music History in 1947

Sessions' 2nd Symphony

Jan 9 Roger Sessions' 2nd Symphony premieres in San Francisco with Pierre Monteux conducting the San Francisco Symphony,

Composer and Musicologist Roger Sessions

Jan 10 Burton Lane and Yip Harburg's musical "Finian's Rainbow" opens at 46th St Theater, NYC; runs for 725 performances, winning 3 Tony Awards
Jan 21 "Sweethearts" opens at Shubert Theater NYC for 288 performances

Honegger's 4th Symphony

Jan 21 Arthur Honegger's 4th Symphony premieres in Basel, Switzerland

Shostakovich Named Professor

Feb 1 Dmitri Shostakovich named professor at conservatoire of Leningrad

Feb 15 Sammy Fain and George Marion Jr's musical "Toplitzky of Notre Dame" closes at Century Theater, NYC, after 60 performances

Symphony No. 3

Feb 16 Morton Gould's 3rd Symphony, premieres

Feb 18 Gian Carlo Menotti's opera "Telephone" premieres in NYC
Mar 12 "Chocolate Soldier" opens at Century Theater NYC for 69 performances

Brigadoon

Mar 13 Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe's musical "Brigadoon" opens at Ziegfeld Theater, NYC; runs for 581 performances

Beggar's Holiday

Mar 29 Duke Ellington and John La Touche's musical "Beggar's Holiday" closes at Broadway Theater, NYC, after 111 performances

Jazz Musician and Composer Duke Ellington

Apr 3 Sidney Lippman, Sylvia Dee, and Max Schulman's musical comedy "Barefoot Boy with Cheek", based on Schulman's novel of the same name, opens at Martin Beck Theatre, NYC; runs for 108 performances

New Orleans

Apr 18 "New Orleans", an American musical romance film premieres; Louis Armstrong and Billie Holiday, in her only feature film, play supporting roles

Apr 26 "Bless the Bride" musical opens in London
May 10 "Chocolate Soldier" closes at Century Theater NYC after 69 performances
May 16 Billie Holiday is arrested in her New York apartment for possession of narcotics
May 17 "Street Scene" closes at Adelphi Theater NYC after 148 performances
Jun 2 Monte Carlo and Alma Sanders' musical "Louisiana Lady" opens at Century Theater, NYC; runs for 4 performances
Jun 4 Monte Carlo and Alma Sanders' musical "Louisiana Lady" closes at Century Theater, NYC, after 4 performances
Jun 28 "Tim-Tayshun" ("Temptation") novelty single by Red Ingle with Jo Stafford (billed as Cinderella G. Stump) hits #1
Jul 5 Sidney Lippman, Sylvia Dee, and Max Schulman's musical comedy "Barefoot Boy with Cheek", based on Schulman's novel of the same name, closes at Martin Beck Theater, NYC, after 108 performances
Jul 12 Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse's stage comedy "Life with Father" closes at the Alvin Theatre, NYC, after 3224 performances
Aug 1 "Medium & The Telephone" opens at Barrymore Theater NYC for 211 performances
Aug 2 Greek-American soprano makes her Italian debut in the title role of Amilcare Ponchielli's "La Gioconda" at the Verona Arena
Aug 6 1st performance of Hector Villa-Lobos' "Bachianas Brasilieras No 8"
Aug 23 US President Truman's daughter, Margaret's 1st public singing concert

Call it Stormy Monday..

Sep 13 T-Bone Walker records his biggest hit "Call it Stormy Monday (But Tuesday Is Just as Bad)" in Hollywood, California

Blues Guitarist and Singer-Songwriter T-Bone Walker

Cannes Film Festival

Sep 25 2nd Cannes Film Festival ends with six different awards presented including Best Musical for Vincente Minnelli's" Ziegfeld Follies" and Walt Disney's "Dumbo" Best Animation

Sep 27 Revival of Victor Herbert's 1913 operetta "Sweethearts" closes at Shubert Theater, NYC. after 288 performances
Sep 29 Dizzy Gillespie presents his 1st Carnegie Hall concert, NYC
Oct 2 Henry Duffy's musical "Music in My Heart", based on life and work of Piotr Tchaikovsky, opens at Adelphi Theater, NYC; runs for 124 performances
Oct 3 Manning Sherwin and Harold Purcell's musical "Under the Counter" opens at Shubert Theater, NYC; runs for 27 performances
Oct 9 Julie Styne and Sammy Cahn's musical "High Button Shoes" premieres at the New Century Theatre, NYC (later transferred to the Shubert, then to The Broadway Theatre, NYC; runs for 727 performances

Allegro

Oct 10 Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein's musical "Allegro" opens at Majestic Theater, NYC; runs for 318 performances

Oct 21 J.B Priestley's stage drama "An Inspector Calls" opens at the Booth Theatre, NYC; runs for 95 performances
Oct 25 Manning Sherwin and Harold Purcell's musical "Under the Counter" closes at Shubert Theater, NYC, after 27 performances

Hymnus Ambrosianus

Oct 30 Darius Milhaud's 3rd Symphony "Hymnus Ambrosianus" premieres in Paris

Nov 1 Gian Carlo Menotti's musical drama/comedy double bill "The Medium" and " The Telephone" closes at The Ethel Barrymore Theatre, NYC after 211 performances

A Streetcar Named Desire

Dec 3 Tennessee Williams' stage drama "A Streetcar Named Desire", starring Jessica Tandy, Marlon Brando, and Kin Hunter, and directed by Elia Kazan opens the Ethel Barrymore Theatre, NYC; runs for 855 performances, wins a Tony Award and a Pulitzer Prize

Dec 5 Samuel L. Manning and Adolph Thenstead's musical revue "Caribbean Carnival" opens at International Theater, NYC; runs for 11 performances
Dec 9 Menahem Presser (19) makes his Carnegie Hall debut as soloist in Robert Schumann's Piano Concerto, with the Philadelphia Orchestra, under Eugene Ormandy's direction (NYC)
Dec 11 Bob Hilliard and Sigman's musical "Angel in the Wings" opens at Coronet Theater NYC for 308 performances
Dec 13 Samuel L. Manning and Adolph Thenstead's musical revue "Caribbean Carnival" closes at International Theatre, NYC, after 11 performances