May 2025: the main classical music anniversaries to celebrate
Every month, composers and musicians to remember! Classical music and opera have brought out tens of thousands of artists, are performed in thousands of venues and their composers have written scores in great numbers throughout 10 centuries of history. From January 1 to December 31, there are therefore many opportunities to remember a composer or discover an artist, to explore a genre or to expand a work' s knowledge.
May 2025 : essential commemorations
2025 is, as every year, an opportunity to celebrate many centenarians or multi-centenarians related to classical music and opera. In May 2025, some well-known or not so famous artists, composers or musicians, are to be commemorated: Svatopluk Havelka (100th anniversary, Birth), Otto Lohse (100th anniversary, Death), Eduard Marhula (100th anniversary, Death), Antonio Salieri (200th anniversary, Death), Arthur Napoleão dos Santos (100th anniversary, Death).
There are many more: 1925, 1825, 1725...
What's next? Every month, dozens of anniversaries are good reasons to discover a work, to rediscover a musician. June 2025? ... In a year? May 2026...
Day by day, all celebrations for May 2025
Sophia Dussek , Celebrations (May 2025), Classical music, British musician
250th anniversary (Birth)
Svatopluk Havelka , Celebrations (May 2025), Classical music, Czech music educator and composer
100th anniversary (Birth)
Conchita de Badía , Celebrations (May 2025), Classical music, Catalan singer
50th anniversary (Death)
Ekaterina Siurina , Celebrations (May 2025), Classical music, Russian opera singer
50th anniversary (Birth)
Maksim Mrvica , Celebrations (May 2025), Classical music, Croatian pianist
50th anniversary (Birth)
Bartolomeo Cristofori , Celebrations (May 2025), Classical music, Italian maker of musical instruments
370th anniversary (Birth)
George Enescu , Celebrations (May 2025), Classical music, Romanian composer
70th anniversary (Death)
Idris Agalarov , Celebrations (May 2025), Classical music, musical artist
50th anniversary (Death)
Agustín Pío Barrios , Celebrations (May 2025), Classical music, Paraguayan composer and musician (1885-1944)
140th anniversary (Birth)
Otto Lohse , Celebrations (May 2025), Classical music, German composer and conductor
100th anniversary (Death)
Cédric Tiberghien , Celebrations (May 2025), Classical music, French pianist
50th anniversary (Birth)
Vladimir Vavilov , Celebrations (May 2025), Classical music, Russian guitarist, lutenist and composer (1925-1973)
100th anniversary (Birth)
Eduard Marhula , Celebrations (May 2025), Classical music, Czech composer
100th anniversary (Death)
Niccolò Piccinni , Celebrations (May 2025), Classical music, Italian composer
225th anniversary (Death)
Antonio Salieri , Celebrations (May 2025), Classical music, Italian composer and teacher (1750–1825)
200th anniversary (Death)
Carl Stamitz , Celebrations (May 2025), Classical music, German composer of partial Czech ancestry
280th anniversary (Birth)
Fernando Lima , Celebrations (May 2025), Classical music, Spanish singer
50th anniversary (Birth)
Maria Bengtsson , Celebrations (May 2025), Classical music, Swedish operatic soprano
50th anniversary (Birth)
Anne Sofie von Otter , Celebrations (May 2025), Classical music, Swedish mezzo-soprano
70th anniversary (Birth)
Vittoria Tesi , Celebrations (May 2025), Classical music, Italian opera singer and music teacher (1701-1775)
250th anniversary (Death)
Vilém Zemánek , Celebrations (May 2025), Classical music, Czech dirigent
150th anniversary (Birth)
Anatoly Lyadov , Celebrations (May 2025), Classical music, Russian composer, teacher and conductor (1855-1914)
170th anniversary (Birth)
Ferdinand Hiller , Celebrations (May 2025), Classical music, German composer and conductor
140th anniversary (Death)
Gabriel Fauré , Celebrations (May 2025), Classical music, French composer, organist, pianist and teacher
180th anniversary (Birth)
Giovanni Battista Viotti , Celebrations (May 2025), Classical music, Italian composer
270th anniversary (Birth)
Eduardo di Di Capua , Celebrations (May 2025), Classical music, Italian composer, singer and songwriter
160th anniversary (Birth)
Arthur Napoleão dos Santos , Celebrations (May 2025), Classical music, Brazilian musician
100th anniversary (Death)
Octavio Brunetti , Celebrations (May 2025), Classical music, Argentine musician
50th anniversary (Birth)
Kenneth Jennings , Celebrations (May 2025), Classical music, American conductor
100th anniversary (Birth)
Otto Klemperer , Celebrations (May 2025), Classical music, German conductor and composer
140th anniversary (Birth)
Patrice Munsel , Celebrations (May 2025), Classical music, American soprano singer (1925-2016)
100th anniversary (Birth)
Andrei Eshpai , Celebrations (May 2025), Classical music, Soviet composer
100th anniversary (Birth)
Antonio Pedrotti , Celebrations (May 2025), Classical music, Italian composer and conductor
50th anniversary (Death)
Ginette Keller , Celebrations (May 2025), Classical music, French composer
100th anniversary (Birth)
Vincas Bacevičius , Celebrations (May 2025), Classical music, Lithuanian pianist (1875-1952)
150th anniversary (Birth)
Paul Dukas , Celebrations (May 2025), Classical music, French composer
90th anniversary (Death)
Leroy Anderson , Celebrations (May 2025), Classical music, American composer (1908-1975)
50th anniversary (Death)
Chester Ludgin , Celebrations (May 2025), Classical music, American opera singer (1925-2003)
100th anniversary (Birth)
Zbigniew Preisner , Celebrations (May 2025), Classical music, Polish composer
70th anniversary (Birth)
Jean-Pierre Rampal , Celebrations (May 2025), Classical music, French flutist
25th anniversary (Death)
Franz von Suppé , Celebrations (May 2025), Classical music, Austrian composer and conductor (1819-1895)
130th anniversary (Death)
James King , Celebrations (May 2025), Classical music, tenor (1925-2005)
100th anniversary (Birth)
Aldo Clementi , Celebrations (May 2025), Classical music, Italian composer
100th anniversary (Birth)
Rita Bartos , Celebrations (May 2025), Classical music, Austrian singer and opera singer
100th anniversary (Birth)
Luigi Boccherini , Celebrations (May 2025), Classical music, Italian composer and cellist (1743–ayer)
220th anniversary (Death)
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau , Celebrations (May 2025), Classical music, German lyric baritone and conductor (1925-2012)
100th anniversary (Birth)
Pavel Štěpán , Celebrations (May 2025), Classical music, Czech music educator, pianist and university educator (1925-1998)
100th anniversary (Birth)
George Cook , Celebrations (May 2025), Classical music, English opera singer and actor
100th anniversary (Birth)
Josef Suk , Celebrations (May 2025), Classical music, Czech composer and violinist (1874-1935)
90th anniversary (Death)
Calvin Sieb , Celebrations (May 2025), Classical music, American-Canadian violinist and educator (1925-2007)
100th anniversary (Birth)
Claude Prey , Celebrations (May 2025), Classical music, French composer
100th anniversary (Birth)
Stefano Donaudy , Celebrations (May 2025), Classical music, Italian composer (1879-1925)
100th anniversary (Death)
Louis Granier , Celebrations (May 2025), Classical music, French composer (1725-1807)
300th anniversary (Birth)
Endel Ani , Celebrations (May 2025), Classical music, Estonian opera singer
100th anniversary (Birth)