Events

• March 22 – Daniel Barenboim is awarded the Otto Hahn Peace Medal for his work with the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra.
• March 29 – Protesters interrupt a concert by the Jerusalem Quartet at London's Wigmore Hall.^[1]
• June 8 – The Gregynog Music Festival opens; performers include Emma Kirkby, Catrin Finch and The Academy of Ancient Music.^[2]
• July 11 – Rachel Barton Pine gives a three-part performance at Chicago's Millennium Park as part of the "Great Performers of Illinois" celebration.
• August – Frank Huang leaves the Ying Quartet.
• August 13 – The Three Choirs Festival Youth Choir give their first concert, at Tewkesbury Abbey, performing Handel’s "Zadok the Priest", "Water Music (Suite No 2 in D)" and "My Heart is Inditing", and Bach’s "Magnificat", accompanied by the Corelli Chamber Orchestra.^[3]

New works

• Steven Bryant – Concerto for Wind Ensemble^[4]
• Mehdi Hosseini
  • Taleshi Hava, for solo violin and bassoon
  • An Unfinished Draft, for flute, clarinet, piano, violin, violoncello and baritone
  • Pause, for flute, clarinet, piano, violin, violoncello and tubular bells
• Wojciech Kilar – The Solemn Overture, for symphony orchestra
• Fred Lerdahl – Arches
• Bruno Mantovani – Concerto de chambre nos 1 and 2
• Krzysztof Penderecki
  • Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott for mixed choir, brass, percussion and string orchestra
  • Powiało na mnie morze snów... Pieśni zadumy i nostalgii (A sea of dreams did breathe on me... Songs of reverie and nostalgia)
  • Duo concertante, for violin and double bass
  • Tanz, for solo viola
• Steve Reich – WTC 9/11
• Kaija Saariaho – Mirages^[5]
• Esa-Pekka Salonen – Nyx, for orchestra^[6]
• Johannes Maria Staud
  • On Comparative Meteorology, for orchestra
  • Contrebande (On Comparative Meteorology II), for orchestra
  • Tondo Preludio, for orchestra
  • Chant d'amour, for ensemble
• Manfred Trojahn – Herbstmusik, for orchestra
• Graham Waterhouse – Chinese Whispers

Opera premieres

Albums

• Jack Cooper – The Chamber Wind Music of Jack Cooper
• Jackie Evancho – O Holy Night
• Jon Lord – To Notice Such Things
• Frederik Magle – Like a Flame
• Maksim Mrvica – Appassionata
• Les Prêtres – Spiritus Dei

Musical films

• Kinshasa Symphony

Deaths

• January 8 – Otmar Suitner, Austrian conductor, 87
• January 22 – Surendran Reddy, South African pianist and composer, 47
• January 23 – Earl Wild, US pianist, 94
• February 2 – Nelli Shkolnikova, Russian violinist, 81
• February 9 – Jacques Hétu, Canadian composer and music teacher, 71
• February 11 – Irina Arkhipova, Russian operatic mezzo-soprano and later contralto, 85
• February 17 – Kathryn Grayson, 88, American soprano and film star
• February 18 – Ariel Ramírez, Argentine composer, 88
• March – Farman Behboud, Iranian pianist and piano teacher, 63
• March 4 – Amalie Christie, Norwegian classical pianist, author and anthroposophist, 96
• March 5 – Philip Langridge, English operatic tenor, 70
• March 17 – Ştefan Gheorghiu, Romanian violinist, 83
• March 23 – Blanche Thebom, 91, American mezzo-soprano
• April 1 – Morag Beaton, 83, Scottish-Australian soprano
• April 10 – William Walker, 78, American baritone and General Director of the Fort Worth Opera
• April 27 – Morris Pert, Scottish percussionist, pianist and composer, 62
• April 29 – Johannes Fritsch, German composer, 68
• May 5 – Giulietta Simionato, Italian operatic mezzo-soprano, 99
• May 17 – Yvonne Loriod, French pianist, teacher, and composer, 86
• May 24 – Anneliese Rothenberger, 83, German soprano
• May 25 – Siphiwo Ntshebe, South African operatic tenor, 35 (meningitis)
• June 2 – Giuseppe Taddei, Italian operatic baritone, 93
• June 5 – Arne Nordheim, Norwegian composer, 78
• June 12 – Fuat Mansurov, Russian conductor, 82
• June 14 – Giacinto Prandelli, Italian operatic tenor, 96
• June 18 – Kalmen Opperman, American clarinetist, teacher, conductor and instrument maker, 90
• July 1 – John Paynter, British composer and music educator, 78
• July 5 – Cesare Siepi, 87, Italian bass
• July 12 – John Douglas, American conductor, voice teacher and accompanist, 54 (melanoma)
• July 14 – Sir Charles Mackerras, Australian conductor, 84
• July 15 – Luo Pinchao, Chinese opera singer, 98
• June 16 – Maureen Forrester, 79, Canadian contralto
• July 21 – Anthony Rolfe Johnson, British tenor, 69
• August 6 – Cacilda Borges Barbosa, Brazilian pianist, conductor and composer, 96
• September 11 – Herbert Grossman, American conductor, 83
• September 12 – Charles Ansbacher, American conductor, 67
• September 19 – László Polgár, Hungarian operatic bass, 63
• September 21 – Geoffrey Burgon, British film and TV score composer, 69
• September 28 – Dolores Wilson, American operatic soprano, 82
• October 10
  • Alison Stephens, English mandolin player, 40 (cervical cancer)
  • Joan Sutherland, Australian operatic soprano, 83
• October 30 – Morris Pert, Scottish composer, drummer /percussionist and pianist, 62
• November 2 – Rudolf Barshai, Russian violist and composer, 86
• November 5 – Shirley Verrett, American mezzo-soprano, 79
• November 12 – Henryk Górecki, Polish composer, 74
• November 30 – Peter Hofmann, German operatic tenor, 66
• December 6 – Hugues Cuénod, Swiss operatic tenor, 108
• December 7 – Sergiu Luca, Romanian violinist, 67
• December 15 – Hilde Rössel-Majdan, Austrian operatic contralto, 89
• December 16 – Richard Adeney, British flautist, 90

Major awards

Pulitzer Prize in Music

• Jennifer Higdon – Violin Concerto

Classical Brits

• Composer of the Year – Thomas Adès
• Male Artist of the Year – Vasily Petrenko
• Female Artist Of The Year – Angela Gheorghiu
• Critics' Award – Antonio Pappano

Grammy Awards

• See 52nd Grammy Awards

Composer's Guild Grand Prize

• Greg Danner