Music History on October 15

Night on Bald Mountain

1886 Modest Mussorgsky's musical fantasy "Night on Bald Mountain" premieres at Kononov Hall, in St. Petersburg, Russia

La Mer

1905 Claude Debussy's symphonic sketch "La Mer" premieres in Paris

Execution

1917 Dutch exotic dancer Mata Hari is executed by firing squad for spying for Germany during WWI at Vincennes near Paris

Exotic Dancer, Courtesan and German Spy Mata Hari

1923 American pianist Henry Cowell sparks a riot among audience members at Gewandhaus concert hall in Leipzig, Germany - some tried to physically stop his avant-garde performance, while others defended him
1925 Willem Landré's opera "Beatrice" premieres in The Hague

Shostakovich's 1st Piano Concert

1933 Dmitri Shostakovich's 1st Piano Concerto premieres in Leningrad, with Shostakovich at the piano

Contract of Interest

1955 Buddy Holley opens for Bill Haley & His Comets in Lubbock, Texas, and impresses Nashville scout Eddie Crandall, leading to a recording contract with a misspelling that creates "Buddy Holly"

1960 "Laughs & Other Events" closes at Barrymore Theater, NYC, after 8 performances

Country Music Association Awards

1969 3rd Country Music Association Awards: Johnny Cash and Tammy Wynette win

1973 7th Country Music Association Awards: Roy Clark wins

Jolene

1973 Country music artist Dolly Parton releases her single "Jolene"

Album Release

1974 Asylum Records releases "The Heart of Saturday Night", the second studio album by singer-songwriter Tom Waits

A Dose of Rock 'n' Roll

1976 Ringo Starr releases single "A Dose of Rock 'n' Roll"; peaks at 26 in US, fails to chart in UK

Beatles Drummer, Singer, and Actor Ringo Starr

1977 "Serpentine Fire" single released by Earth, Wind & Fire (Billboard Song of the Year 1978)
1977 Debbie Boone's "You Light Up My Life" goes #1 & stays #1 for 10 weeks
1987 Allan Knee and Brian Gari's musical "Late Nite Comic" opens at Ritz Theater, NYC; runs for 4 performances
1988 Amnesty International's "Human Rights Now!" Concert Tour ends in Buenos Aires, Argentina
1994 Philip Glass' Symphony No. 2, for string orchestra, premieres with the Brooklyn Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Dennis Russell Davies, at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in Brooklyn, NYC

On This Day