1959 in music


This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1959.

Specific locations

Specific genres

Events

Albums released (in alphabetical order)

An Evening Wasted with Tom Lehrer – Tom LehrerAt Large – The Kingston TrioBallad of the Blues – Jo StaffordBerry Is on Top – Chuck BerryBill Haley's Chicks – Bill Haley & His CometsBlind Joe Death – John FaheyThe Cats – John ColtraneCattin' with Coltrane and Quinichette – John Coltrane & Paul Quinichette

Biggest hit singles

The following songs achieved the highest chart positions in the charts of 1959.
#ArtistTitleYearCountryChart Entries
1Bobby DarinMack the Knife1959USUK 1 – Sep 1959, US BB 1 – Sep 1959, US BB 1 of 1959, US CashBox 1 of 1959, Canada 1 – Aug 1959, Grammy in 1959, POP 1 of 1959, DDD 3 of 1959, Norway 9 – Nov 1959, South Africa 13 of 1959, RYM 15 of 1959, RIAA 15, Italy 38 of 1960, Europe 88 of the 1950s, Party 226 of 1999, Rolling Stone 251, Acclaimed 407, WXPN 518
2Johnny HortonThe Battle of New Orleans1959USUS BB 1 – May 1959, Canada 1 – May 1959, Australia 1 for 5 weeks Dec 1958, US CashBox 2 of 1959, Australia 9 of 1959, UK 16 – Jun 1959, South Africa 17 of 1959, RYM 19 of 1959, US BB 38 of 1959, POP 38 of 1959, DDD 47 of 1959, RIAA 333, Acclaimed 821
3Lloyd PricePersonality1959USAustralia 1 for 4 weeks Nov 1958, US BB 2 – May 1959, Canada 2 – May 1959, Australia 5 of 1959, US CashBox 6 of 1959, Norway 6 – Jul 1959, South Africa 12 of 1959, UK 25 – Aug 1959, US BB 33 of 1959, POP 33 of 1959, Europe 36 of the 1950s, DDD 56 of 1959, RYM 85 of 1959, Acclaimed 2027
4Lloyd PriceStagger Lee1959USUS BB 1 – Jan 1959, Canada 3 – Dec 1958, South Africa 5 of 1959, UK 7 – Feb 1959, Norway 8 – Apr 1959, US CashBox 11 of 1959, DDD 23 of 1958, US BB 28 of 1959, POP 28 of 1959, RYM 31 of 1958, Europe 86 of the 1950s, Rolling Stone 456, Acclaimed 1013
5Frankie AvalonVenus1959USUS BB 1 – Feb 1959, Canada 1 – Feb 1959, Australia 1 for 2 weeks Oct 1958, US CashBox 3 of 1959, RYM 4 of 1959, Italy 6 of 1959, South Africa 6 of 1959, Australia 15 of 1959, UK 16 – Apr 1959

Published popular music

Other notable songs

Classical music

Compositions

  • Juhan Aavik – Requiem
  • Jean Absil –
  • * Danses bulgares, op. 103, for piano
  • * Passacaglia in memoriam Alban Berg, op. 101, for piano
  • * Rhapsody No. 5, op. 102, for 2 pianos
  • Murray Adaskin – Saskatchewan Legend, for orchestra
  • Samuel Adler – Toccata, Recitation, and Postlude, for organ
  • Stephen Albert – Toccatas, for piano
  • William Alwyn –
  • * Symphony No. 4
  • * Trio for strings
  • Hendrik Andriessen –
  • * Missa populi, for solo voice, congregation, and organ
  • * Signum Magnum, for soprano, choir, and organ
  • * Suite, for flute or recorder and piano
  • * Tota pulchra, anima mea, for 2 voices and organ
  • Jurriaan Andriessen – Sonata da camera, for flute, viola, and guitar
  • Louis Andriessen –
  • * Nocturnen, for soprano and chamber orchestra
  • * Percosse, for flute, trumpet, bassoon, and percussion
  • István Anhalt –
  • * Electronic Composition No. 1 "Sine nomine I"
  • * Electronic Composition No. 2 "Sine nomine II"
  • Hans Erich Apostel –
  • * Fantasie, op. 31b, for piano
  • * Österreichische Miniaturen, for orchestra
  • * Vier kleine Klavierstücke, op. 31a, for piano
  • Malcolm Arnold –
  • * Concerto, for guitar and chamber orchestra, op. 67
  • * Song of Simeon, op. 69, for mimes, solo voices, and chamber orchestra
  • * Sweeney Todd, op. 68
  • * William Blake Songs, op. 66, for alto and strings
  • Claude Arrieu –
  • * Fantaisie lyrique, for ondes martenot and piano
  • * Suite, for string orchestra
  • Robert Ashley – Piano Sonata
  • Larry Austin – Homecoming, cantata for soprano and jazz quintet
  • Jan Bach – Toccata, for orchestra
  • Sven-Erik Bäck – A Game around a Game, for orchestra
  • Henk Badings –
  • * Capriccio, for violin, 2 tapes, and "elektromagnetische Klangfiguren"
  • * Die Frau von Andros, ballet, electronic music
  • * Jungle, ballet, electronic music
  • * Languentibus in purgatorio, for mixed choir
  • * Psalm 147, for children's chorus, chamber chorus, chorus, and orchestra
  • Claude Baillif – Mouvements pour deux, op. 27, for flute and piano
  • Tadeusz Baird – Espressioni varianti, for violin and orchestra
  • Leonardo Balada – Musica en cuatro tiempos, for piano
  • Samuel Barber – Nocturne , op. 33, for piano
  • Jean Barraqué – ... Au delà du hasard, for SSA soloists, 20 instruments in 4 groups including piano and clarinet soloists
  • Leslie Bassett –
  • * Duets, for 2 cellos
  • * For City, Nation, World. cantata, for tenor, SATB choir, children's choir ad lib, congregation, 4 trombones, and organ
  • * Sonata, for violin and piano
  • Jürg Baur –
  • * Chorale Preludes, for organ
  • * Concertino, for flute, oboe, clarinet, string orchestra, and timpani
  • * Metamorphosen, for piano, violin, and cello
  • Gustavo Becerra-Schmidt – String Quartet No. 5
  • John J. Becker –
  • * At Dieppe, for voice and piano
  • * String Quartet no. 3
  • John Beckwith – Music for Dancing, for orchestra
  • Jack Beeson –
  • * Against Idleness and Mischief and in Praise of Labor, for high voice and piano
  • * "Fire, Fire, Quench Desire", for high voice and piano
  • * Lullaby, for alto and piano
  • * Round and Round, for piano, four-hands
  • * Symphony No. 1, in A major
  • * Three Love Songs, for alto and piano
  • * Transformations, for large orchestra
  • Paul Ben-Haim –
  • * Hazono shel navi, for tenor, SATB choir, and orchestra
  • * Poème, for harp
  • Arthur Benjamin – String Quartet No. 2
  • Richard Rodney Bennett – Music for an Occasion, for orchestra
  • Niels Viggo Bentzon – Piano Sonata No. 7, op. 121
  • Gunnar Berg –
  • * Gaffkys I–X, for piano
  • * Pour clarinette et violon, for clarinet and violin
  • * Pour piano et orchestre, for piano and orchestra
  • * 37 Aspects , for ensemble
  • Arthur Berger – Chamber Concerto, for small orchestra
  • Luciano Berio –
  • * Allez Hop!, "racconto mimico"
  • * Différences, for ensemble and tape
  • * Quaderni I, for orchestra
  • * Thema (Omaggio a Joyce) for voice and tape
  • Lennox Berkeley –
  • * Overture, for light orchestra
  • * "So sweet love seemed", for mezzo-sopran or baritone and piano
  • * Sonatina, op. 52, no. 2, for 2 pianos
  • Boris Blacher – Musica giocosa, op. 59, for orchestra
  • Easley Blackwood Jr. –
  • * Concertino, op. 5, for 5 instruments
  • * String Quartet No. 2, op. 6
  • Arthur Bliss – Birthday Song for a Royal Child, SATB choir
  • Augustyn Bloch –
  • * Espressioni, for soprano and orchestra
  • * Impressioni poetiche, for male choir and orchestra
  • Konrad Boehmer – Variation, for orchestra
  • William Bolcom – Romantic Pieces, for piano
  • Margaret Bonds –
  • * Dream Portraits, for voice and piano
  • * "Ezekiel saw the wheel", for voice and piano
  • * "I Got a Home in That Rock", for voice and orchestra or piano
  • * Mass in D Minor, for choir and organ
  • Narcís Bonet – Choral, for organ
  • Pierre Boulez –
  • * Improvisation sur Mallarmé III: A la nue accablante tu, for soprano and orchestra
  • * Tombeau, for soprano and orchestra
  • Paul Bowles – Sweet Bird of Youth, incidental music for the play by Tennessee Williams
  • Henry Brant – The Crossing, for tenor, oboe or soprano saxophone, glockenspiel, violin, and cello
  • Havergal Brian – Symphony No. 13 in C major
  • Benjamin Britten –
  • * Cantata academica, carmen basiliense, op. 62, for SATB chorus and orchestra
  • * Fanfare for St Edmundsbury, for 3 trumpets
  • * Missa brevis in D, op. 63, for boys’ voices and organ
  • * Oliver Cromwell, for unison voices and piano
  • Earle Brown – Hodograph I, for flute, piano + celesta, and percussion
  • Alan Bush – Dorian Passacaglia and Fugue, op. 52, for orchestra
  • Geoffrey Bush – Songs of Wonder, for soprano or tenor and string orchestra or piano
  • Sylvano Bussotti – Piano Pieces for David Tudor
  • Nigel Butterley – Joseph and Mary, for soprano and flute
  • Cornelius Cardew – Piano Piece 1959
  • Elliott Carter – String Quartet No. 2
  • Niccolo Castiglioni – Cangiati, for piano
  • Chen Gang & He Zhanhao – Butterfly Lovers' Violin Concerto
  • Aldo Clementi –
  • * Ideogrammi No. 1, for 16 instruments
  • * Ideogrammi No. 2, for flute and 17 instruments
  • Aaron Copland –
  • * Dance Panels, for orchestra
  • * Paisaje mexicana and Danza de Jalisco, as Two Mexican Pieces, for orchestra; later became part of Three Latin American Sketches
  • John Corigliano –
  • * Kaleidoscope, for 2 pianos
  • * Petits Fours, for violin and piano
  • Paul Creston –
  • * Janus, op. 77, for orchestra
  • * Prelude and Dance, op. 76, for band
  • George Crumb – Variazioni for large orchestra
  • * Halim El-Dabh –
  • * Elements, Beings and Primevals, for tape
  • * Juxtaposition No. 1, for percussion ensemble
  • * Juxtaposition No. 2, for percussion and harp
  • * Juxtaposition No. 3, for mezzo-soprano, 2 harps, and percussion
  • * Leiyla and the Poet, for tape
  • * Meditation on White Noise, for tape
  • * The Word, for tape,
  • Mario Davidovsky – Serie sinfonica 1959 for orchestra
  • Peter Maxwell Davies –
  • *Ricercar and Doubles, for ensemble, Op. 10
  • *Richard II, incidental music to Shakespeare's play, WoO 51
  • Paul Dessau –
  • * Flug zur Sonne, dance scenes
  • * Hymne auf den Beginn einer neuen Geschichte der Menschheit, for speaker, soprano, chorus, 3 pianos, 2 harps, double bass, timpani, and percussion
  • David Diamond –
  • * A Private World, for piano
  • * Sonata, for solo cello
  • * Sonata, for solo violin
  • * Symphony No. 7
  • John Downey – Eastlake Terrace, for piano
  • Henri Dutilleux – Symphony No. 2
  • Werner Egk –
  • * Furchtlosigkeit und Wohlwollen, oratorio for tenor, mixed chorus, and orchestra
  • * Variationen über ein karibisches Thema, for orchestra
  • Gottfried von Einem – Tanz-Rondo, op. 27, for orchestra
  • Hanns Eisler –
  • * Brandverse, for voice and piano
  • * Motto , for voice and piano
  • * Musik zu ‘Schweyk im zweiten Weltkrieg’, for voice and small orchestra
  • * Trommellied, for voice and piano
  • * Rezitativ und Fuge auf 60. Geburtstag von J. R. Becher, for voice and piano
  • * Um meine Weisheit unbekümmert, for voice and piano
  • Nicolas Flagello –
  • *Concerto for strings, Op. 27
  • *Tristis est anima mea, for SATB choir and orchestra, Op. 29
  • Kenneth Gaburo – Stray Birds, for soprano and piano
  • Roberto Gerhard –
  • * Asylum Diary, incidental music for the play by Lavant
  • * Chaconne, for solo violin
  • * Coriolanus, incidental music for the play by Shakespeare
  • * Don Carlos, incidental music for the play by Schiller
  • * Lament on the Death of a Bullfighter, for speaker and tape
  • Ottmar Gerster –
  • * Concerto, for horn and orchestra
  • * Vorwärts!, for baritone, speaker, SATB choir, and chamber orchestra
  • Peggy Glanville-Hicks –
  • * Drama for Orchestra, for clarinet, trumpet, piano, 3 percussionists, strings
  • * Saul and the Witch of Endor, ballet for television
  • Roger Goeb –
  • * Concertino no. 2, for orchestra
  • * Iowa Concerto, for chamber orchestra
  • Alexander Goehr –
  • * Fantasia, op. 4, for orchestra
  • * Songs from the Japanese, op. 9, for mezzo-soprano and piano or orchestra
  • * Variations, op. 8, for flute and piano
  • Henryk Górecki – Symphony No. 1 1959
  • Fernando Lopes Graça –
  • * Canções populares portuguesas, book 4, for voice and piano
  • * História trágico-marítima, second version, for baritone, alto chorus, and orchestra
  • * A menina do mar, for chamber orchestra
  • * Nocturnos, for piano
  • * As predicações de Adamastor contra os portugueses, for voice and piano
  • * Prelúdio e dança burlesca, for 2 pianos
  • * Rondes et complaintes des provinces de France, for choir
  • * Tres peças, for violin and piano
  • * Tres velhos fandangos portugueses, version for piano
  • Camargo Guarnieri –
  • * "O amor de agora", for voice and piano
  • * "Onde andará", for voice and piano
  • * Ponteios, volume 5, for piano
  • * Sonata No. 5, for violin and piano
  • * Valsa No. 10, for piano
  • Cristóbal Halffter –
  • * Sonata, for violin solo
  • * Three Pieces, for flute solo
  • Rodolfo Halffter – Tripartita, op. 25, for orchestra
  • Iain Hamilton –
  • * Sinfonia, for two orchestras
  • * Sonata for cello and piano
  • Karl Amadeus Hartmann – Concerto funebre for violin and strings
  • Roman Haubenstock-Ramati – Interpolation: Mobile pour flûte
  • Bernhard Heiden – Viola Sonata
  • Hans Werner Henze –
  • * Sonata for piano
  • * L’usignolo dell’imperatore, balletto-pantomima, after Hans Christian Andersen
  • Paul Hindemith –
  • * Festmarsch, for 3 male voices and tuba
  • * Joseph, lieber Joseph mein, canon for 4 voices
  • * Six songs from Das Marienleben, op. 27, arranged for soprano and orchestra
  • Alan Hovhaness –
  • * Bardo Sonata, op. 192, for piano
  • * Concerto for Accordion and Orchestra, op. 174
  • * Lake of Van Sonata, op. 175, for piano
  • *, op. 173, for chamber orchestra
  • *, op. 175, for wind ensemble
  • Andrew Imbrie – Legend, for orchestra
  • Maki Ishii – Prelude and Variations, for flute, clarinet, bassoon, horn, violin, viola, cello, piano, and percussion
  • Jānis Ivanovs – Piano Concerto in G minor
  • Francis Jackson – Diversion for Mixtures
  • Miloslav Kabeláč –
  • * Cizokrajné motivy, op. 38, for piano
  • * Suite from Master of Nine Songs’, op. 34a, for baritone and orchestra
  • * Suite, op. 39, for saxophone and piano
  • Dmitri Kabalevsky –
  • * Preludes and Fugues, op. 61
  • * The Leninists, cantata after Y. Dolmatovski for three choruses and large symphony orchestra, op. 63
  • Mauricio Kagel – Transición II, for piano, percussion, and two tape recorders
  • Aram Khachaturian –
  • * Lermontov: Suite, for orchestra
  • * Sonatina, for piano
  • Tikhon Khrennikov – Violin Concerto No. 1, op. 14
  • Gottfried Michael Koenig –
  • * Quintet for Winds, for flute, oboe, cor anglais, clarinet, and bassoon
  • * String Quartet 1959
  • Ernst Krenek –
  • * Flötenstück neunphasig, op. 171, for flute and 6 pianos
  • * Hausmusik, op. 172, for various instruments
  • * Quaestio temporis, op. 170, for small orchestra
  • * Six Motets, op. 169, for 4 voices
  • György Kurtág –
  • * String Quartet No. 1, op. 1
  • * Wind Quintet, op. 2
  • John La Montaine – Fragments from the Song of Songs, op. 29, for soprano and orchestra
  • Ingvar Lidholm – Mutanza, for orchestra
  • György Ligeti – Apparitions, for orchestra
  • Otto Luening – Fantasia, for string quartet and orchestra
  • Witold Lutosławski –
  • * Dance Preludes, version for 9 instruments
  • * Piosenki dziecinne, for voice and piano
  • Elizabeth Maconchy – A Hymn to God the Father, for tenor and piano
  • Bruno Maderna –
  • * L’altro mondo, ovvero Gli stati e imperi della luna, music for a radio play by A. Brissoni, after Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels
  • * Piano Concerto
  • Donald Martino – Trio, for violin, clarinet, and piano
  • Bohuslav Martinů –
  • * The Burden of Moab, cantata, for male voices and piano
  • * Impromptus, for harpsichord
  • * Madrigaly, for mixed voices
  • * Mikeš z hor, chamber cantata, for solo voices, chorus, 2 violins, viola, and piano
  • * Musique de chambre no. 1, for clarinet, violin, viola, cello, harp, and piano
  • * Nonet, for flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, violin, viola, cello, and double bass
  • * Pièce, for 2 cellos
  • * Písničky pro dětský sbor, for children’s choir
  • * The Prophecy of Isaiah, cantata, for solo voices, male chorus, trumpet, viola, piano, and timpani
  • * Ptačí hody, for children’s voices and trumpet
  • * Variations on a Slovak Folksong, for cello and piano
  • * Vigilie, for organ
  • * Znělka, for children’s voices
  • Yoritsune Matsudaira –
  • * Danse sacrée et Danse finale, for orchestra
  • * Katsura, for soprano, flute, guitar, harp, harpsichord, and percussion
  • Toshirō Mayuzumi –
  • * Campanology, electronic music
  • * Sange, for male choir
  • * Shukukon-ka, for chorus and orchestra
  • * U so ri, oratorio
  • Peter Mennin – Sonata concertante, for violin and piano
  • Darius Milhaud –
  • * Burma Road, op. 375, incidental music for television
  • * Mother Courage, op. 379, incidental music for the play by Bertolt Brecht
  • * Sonatina, op. 378, for viola and piano
  • * Symphonie concertante, op. 376, for bassoon, horn, trumpet, double bass, and orchestra
  • * Symphony No. 9, op. 380
  • Federico Mompou – Impressiones intimas, for piano
  • Makoto Moroi –
  • * Chamber Cantata No. 2
  • * Pitagoras no hoshi, music drama, for solo voice, instruments, and tape
  • Thea Musgrave –
  • * Scottish Dance Suite, for orchestra
  • * Triptych, for tenor and orchestra
  • Bo Nilsson –
  • * Ett blocks timme, cantata for soprano and chamber orchestra
  • * Stenogram, for organ
  • * Brief an Gösta Oswald, cantata trilogy
  • ** Ein irrender Sohn, for alto, alto flute, and chamber ensemble
  • ** Mädchentotenlieder, for soprano, alto flute, and chamber ensemble
  • ** Und die Zeiger seiner Augen wurden langsam zurückgedreht, for alto or soprano and orchestra
  • Luigi Nono – Composizione no. 2 , for orchestra
  • Andrzej Panufnik –
  • * Pieśni ludowych unison choir, 2 flutes, 2 clarinets, and bass clarinet
  • * Polonia, suite for orchestra
  • Arvo Pärt –
  • * Meie aed, op. 3, for children’s chorus and orchestra
  • * Sonatine, op. 1, no. 2, for piano
  • Oedoen Partos
  • *Improvisation and Niggun for harp
  • *Maqamat, for flute and strings
  • Vincent Persichetti –
  • * Song of Peace, op. 82, for TTBB/SATB choir and piano
  • * String Quartet No. 3, op. 81
  • Michel Philippot – Composition No. 1, for string orchestra
  • Walter Piston –
  • * Concerto, for 2 pianos and orchestra
  • * Three New England Sketches, for orchestra
  • Quincy Porter –
  • * Concerto for harpsichord and orchestra
  • * Concerto, for wind orchestra
  • Francis Poulenc -
  • * Gloria
  • Henri Pousseur –
  • * Préhistoire du cinéma, 1–track tape
  • * Rimes pour différentes sources sonores, for 3 orchestral groups and 2-track tape
  • Juan Orrego-Salas –
  • * Alabanzas a la Virgen, op. 49, for soprano or tenor and piano
  • * Garden Songs, op. 47, for soprano, flute, viola, and harp
  • George Perle – Wind Quintet No. 1
  • Allan Pettersson – Symphony No. 4
  • H. Owen Reed –
  • * Che-Ba-Kun-Ah, for band, or for winds and string quartet
  • * Renascence, for band
  • George Rochberg – Bartókiana, for piano
  • Ned Rorem –
  • * "Memory", for voice and piano
  • * Miracles of Christmas, for SATB choir and organ
  • * "My Papa's Waltz", for voice and piano
  • * "Night Crow", for voice and piano
  • * "Root Cellar", for voice and piano
  • * Two Poems of Theodore Roethke, for voice and piano
  • * "The Waking", for voice and piano
  • Hilding Rosenberg –
  • * Glaukes sånger, for voice and piano
  • * Quintet for winds
  • * Riflessioni No. 1, for string orchestra
  • * Sonata, for solo flute
  • * Songs, for voice and piano
  • Frederic Rzewski – Poem, for piano
  • Vadim Salmanov – Symphony No. 2 in G
  • Domingo Santa Cruz – String Quartet No. 3, op. 31
  • Giacinto Scelsi – Quattro pezzi su una nota sola
  • Bogusław Schaeffer – Concerto breve for cello
  • Pierre Schaeffer – Etudes aux objets
  • R. Murray Schafer – In memoriam: Alberto Guerrero, for string orchestra
  • Hermann Schroeder –
  • * Missa figuralis, for choir, instruments, and organ
  • * Partita Veni Creator Spiritus, for organ
  • * Quartet No. 3, for oboe, violin, viola, and cello
  • Gunther Schuller –
  • * Abstraction, for nine instruments
  • * Concertino, for jazz quartet and orchestra
  • * Conversations, for jazz quartet and string quartet
  • William Schuman – Violin Concerto
  • Makoto Shinohara –
  • * Kassouga, for flute and piano
  • * Pièces concertantes, for trumpet and piano
  • Dmitri Shostakovich – Cello Concerto No. 1
  • Karlheinz Stockhausen –
  • * Refrain, for three players
  • * Zyklus, for a percussionist
  • Igor Stravinsky –
  • * Double Canon: Raoul Dufy in memoriam, for four instruments
  • * Epitaphium, "Für das Grabmal des Prinzen Max Egon zu Fürstenberg", for flute, clarinet, and harp
  • Carlos Surinach – Concerto for Orchestra
  • Tōru Takemitsu –
  • * Ikari wo komete furikaereba, incidental music
  • * Kaizoku, incidental music
  • * Saegirarenai kyūsoku I–III, for piano
  • * Scene, for cello and string orchestra
  • * Shiseru ōjo, incidental music
  • Randall Thompson –
  • * Frostiana, for 3–7 voices and piano or orchestra
  • * The Gate of Heaven, 4-part choir
  • Virgil Thomson –
  • * Bertha
  • * Collected Poems, for soprano, baritone, and orchestra
  • * Fugues and Cantilenas for orchestra
  • * Lamentations, for accordion
  • * Mostly about Love, for voice and piano
  • Michael Tippett – Lullaby, for 6 solo voices: alto, two sopranos, two tenors, and bass
  • Erich Urbanner – Concertino, for flute and orchestra
  • Vladimir Ussachevsky –
  • * The Boy Who Saw Through, film score
  • * Studies in Sound, Plus, for tape
  • David Van Vactor – Symphony No. 3
  • Heitor Villa-Lobos –
  • * Concerto Grosso, for wind quartet and wind ensemble
  • * Suite No. 1, for chamber orchestra
  • * Suite No. 2, for chamber orchestra
  • William Walton –
  • * Anon in Love, 6 songs for tenor and guitar or orchestra
  • * March: A History of the English-speaking Peoples, incidental music for ABC TV
  • * A Queen’s Fanfare, for brass
  • Egon Wellesz –
  • * Lieder aus Wien, op. 82, for voice and piano
  • * Quintet, op.81 for clarinet and string quartet
  • * Rhapsodie, op. 87, for viola
  • Healey Willan –
  • * Passacaglia and Fugue no. 2 in E minor, op. 178, for organ
  • * Poem for Strings, op. 82, version for string orchestra
  • Grace Williams – All Seasons Shall Be Sweet
  • Charles Wuorinen –
  • * Musica duarum partium ecclesiastica, for brass quintet, timpani, piano, and organ
  • * Symphony No. 3
  • * Trio concertante, for oboe, violin, and piano
  • La Monte Young –
  • * Sarabande, for any instruments
  • * Studies I, II, and III, for piano
  • * Vision, for piano, 2 brass, recorder, 4 bassoons, violin, viola, cello, and double bass
  • Jōji Yuasa – Projection Topologic, for piano
  • Iannis Xenakis –
  • * Analogique B, for 2-track tape
  • * Duel for Two Small Orchestras
  • * Syrmos, for 12 violins, 3 cellos, and 3 double basses
  • Çesk Zadeja – Atdheu im, cantata for tenor and mixed chorus

Opera

Film

[Musical theater]

Aladdin London production opened at the Coliseum on December 17.Destry Rides Again Broadway production opened at the Imperial Theatre on April 23 and ran for 472 performancesFings Ain't Wot They Used T'Be Stratford production opened at the Theatre Royal on April 17 and ran for 63 performancesFiorello! Broadway production opened at the Broadhurst Theatre on November 23 and ran for 795 performancesGypsy Broadway production opened at The Broadway Theatre on May 21 and ran for 702 performancesJuno Broadway production opened at the Winter Garden Theatre, New York, March 9, 1959, and ran for 16 performancesLittle Mary Sunshine Off-Broadway production opened at the Orpheum Theatre on November 18 and ran for 1143 performances.Lock Up Your Daughters London production opened at the Mermaid Theatre on May 28 and ran for 328 performancesThe Love Doctor London production opened at the Piccadilly Theatre on October 12 and ran for only 16 performances.On the Town Broadway revival opened at the Carnegie Hall Playhouse on January 15 and ran for 70 performancesOnce Upon a Mattress Broadway production opened at the St. James Theatre and ran for 244 performancesRedhead Broadway production opened at the 46th Street Theatre on February 5 and ran for 405 performancesThe Sound of Music Broadway production opened at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on November 16 and ran for 1443 performances.Take Me Along Broadway production opened at the Shubert Theatre on October 22 and ran for 448 performances

[Musical film]s

Expresso Bongo British film starring Laurence HarveyChar Dil Char Rahen, music by Anil Biswas, starring Raj Kapoor and Shammi KapoorDil Deke Dekho, music by Usha Khanna, starring Asha ParekhThe Five Pennies starring Danny KayeGo, Johnny, Go starring Jimmy Clanton and Sandy Stewart, and featuring Chuck Berry, Jackie Wilson, Ritchie Valens, The Cadillacs, Jo-Ann Campbell, The Flamingos and Eddie Cochran.Li'l Abner featuring most of the cast of the original Broadway productionThe Lady is a Square starring Anna Neagle, Frankie Vaughan, Janette Scott, Anthony Newley and Wilfrid Hyde-WhitePorgy And Bess, based on 1935 folk opera, directed by Otto Preminger, starring Sidney Poitier, Dorothy Dandridge and Sammy Davis Jr.Say One for Me starring Bing Crosby and Debbie ReynoldsTommy the Toreador starring Tommy SteeleSleeping Beauty from Walt Disney Pictures

Births

Deaths

Awards

[Eurovision Song Contest]

[Grammy] Awards

[Pulitzer Prize for Music]