December 3, 1914:
Irving Gifford Fine is born at 404 Meridian St. in East Boston, Massachusetts, USA, the first of three children born to George Fine, a lawyer, and Charlotte Friedman.
December 16, 1936:
Incidental music to the play The Christmas Sparrow or Double or Nothin’ by Irving Fine (22) is performed for the first time, at Harvard University. The play was written by Fine’s Harvard classmate, John Horne Burns.
June 29, 1939:
Irving Fine (24) sails from the United States for France aboard the SS De Grasse to study with Nadia Boulanger (51).
July 7, 1939:
Irving Fine (24) arrives at Le Havre and takes a train for Paris.
July 23, 1939:
At his second lesson with Nadia Boulanger (51), Irving Fine (24) is told by his teacher that he has “a definite gift for composition.” (Ramey, 26) She asks him to stay on in Paris for a year. This will be impossible once war begins and he will return to Boston at the end of August.
March 8, 1940:
Igor Stravinsky (57) performs in a concert of his own music in Sanders Theatre of Harvard University. The program notes are written by Irving Fine (25).
June 25, 1941:
Irving Fine (26) marries Verna Rudnick, the daughter of a lawyer, and a recent graduate of Wellesley College, at the Kenmore Hotel in Boston.
May 22, 1942:
Incidental music to LaGallienne’s (after Carroll) play Alice in Wonderland by Irving Fine (27) is performed for the first time, in John Hancock Hall, Boston.
March 4, 1943:
Three Choruses from Alice in Wonderland by Irving Fine (28) is performed for the first time, in Sanders Theatre, Harvard University.
April 28, 1943:
Two songs by Irving Fine (28) for a Harvard Dramatic Club production of García Lorca’s play Doña Rosita are performed for the first time, at Radcliffe College in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The two songs are Because I Caught a Glimpse of You, and What the Flowers Say.
January 25, 1945:
Four Choral Patterns from The New Yorker (later renamed The Choral New Yorker), for solo voices, chorus, and piano by Irving Fine (30), to words of four different poets, is performed for the first time, in Sanders Theatre of Harvard University.
July 1, 1945:
Irving Fine (30) is promoted to faculty instructor in music at Harvard University.
February 6, 1947:
Sonata for violin and piano by Irving Fine (32) is performed for the first time, at Harvard University. See 9 February 1947.
February 9, 1947:
Sonata for violin and piano by Irving Fine (32) is given its official premiere in Times Hall, New York. See 6 February 1947.
February 26, 1947:
Irving Fine (32) conducts the first performance of the Kyrie and Gloria from Igor Stravinsky’s (64) Mass for chorus and double wind quintet. The instrumental parts are played on two pianos. Also premiered is Tell This Blood for chorus by Lukas Foss (24). See 27 October 1948.
June 2, 1947:
Irving Fine (32) arrives at the MacDowell Colony in Peterborough, New Hampshire. Here he will complete the composition of Toccata Concertante.
October 22, 1948:
Toccata Concertante for orchestra by Irving Fine (33) is performed for the first time, in Symphony Hall, Boston.
November 19, 1948:
Music for Piano by Irving Fine (33) is performed (officially) for the first time, in Boston. (It may have been performed as many as four times previous to this around the Boston area)
December 11, 1948:
Irving Fine (34) writes to Aaron Copland (48) that Harvard University has decided against renewing his appointment. He thinks anti-Semitism was part of the decision.
February 19, 1949:
Partita for wind quintet by Irving Fine (34) is performed for the first time, in Times Hall, New York.
May 2, 1949:
Lukas Foss (26) and Irving Fine (34) are among six composers who have each contributed a section to the cantata In Grato Jubilo, to words of McCord, which is premiered tonight at a farewell dinner for Serge Koussevitzky in Symphony Hall, Boston.
August 14, 1949:
Aaron Copland (48) is driving in Richmond, Massachusetts, near Tanglewood, with Irving Fine (34) and his wife. In another car are Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Berger (37). Copland accidentally runs into and kills a cow, destroying his car in the process. All survive in tact (except for the cow), but when the police arrive they arrest Copland and hold him until he is bailed out of jail at 02:00 by Fine. Copland will be charged with “operating to endanger” and fined $35 for the cow.
March 18, 1950:
In the first public concert devoted to electronic music, in the École normale de musique, Paris, Symphonie pour un homme seul by Pierre Schaeffer (39) and Pierre Henry (22) is performed for the first time. It is the first major work of musique-concrète. In the audience are Irving Fine (35) and his wife.
April 16, 1950:
The John Simon Guggenheim Foundation fellowships are announced, including ones for Robert Ward (32), Elliott Carter (41), Irving Fine (35), and Harry Partch (48).
July 16, 1950:
Boston newspapers report that Irving Fine (35) has been appointed Composer-in-Residence and Lecturer in Music at Brandeis University.
December 3, 1950:
The Hour Glass, a choral song cycle for chorus by Irving Fine, to words of Jonson, is performed for the first time, in Town Hall, New York on the composer’s 36th birthday.
March 28, 1951:
Notturno for strings and harp by Irving Fine (36) is performed for the first time, in Jordan Hall, Boston, conducted by the composer.
December 10, 1952:
String Quartet by Irving Fine (38) is performed for the first time, at Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts.
April 7, 1953:
Mutability, a cycle for voice and piano by Irving Fine (38) to words of Orgel, is performed for the first time, in the (old) John Hancock Building, Boston the composer at the keyboard.
November 15, 1955:
Serious Song, a Lament for strings by Irving Fine (40) is performed for the first time, in Louisville, Kentucky.
February 20, 1956:
New works are performed for the first time at the Juilliard School, New York: Spring Comes Singing for voice and piano by Henry Cowell (58) to words of Hagemeyer, Piano Sonata no.10 op.67 by Vincent Persichetti (40), and Three Children’s Songs for Grownups (later Childhood Fables for Grownups ) for voice and piano by Irving Fine (41) to words of Norman.
March 3, 1957:
Fantasia for string trio by Irving Fine (42) is performed for the first time, at the University of Illinois, Urbana.
June 9, 1958:
McCord’s Menagerie for male chorus by Irving Fine (43), to words of McCord, is performed for the first time (officially), in Sanders Theatre of Harvard University.
November 3, 1959:
One, Two, Buckle My Shoe for oboe, clarinet, violin, and cello by Irving Fine (44) is performed for the first time, in a documentary broadcast over the airwaves of WGBH-TV in Boston.
May 31, 1960:
The Blue and White March (later retitled Blue Towers) for orchestra by Irving Fine (45) is performed for the first time, in Symphony Hall, Boston. It is a reworking of The Blue and the White, a march he wrote for Brandeis University.
November 5, 1960:
Diversions for orchestra by Irving Fine (45) is performed for the first time, in Symphony Hall, Boston. See 22 March 1987.
January 13, 1961:
The Christian Science Monitor reports that Irving Fine (46) has been selected as the first holder of the Walter W. Naumburg Chair at Brandeis University.
March 23, 1962:
Symphony (1962) by Irving Fine (47) is performed for the first time, in Symphony Hall, Boston.
August 20, 1962:
During an electrocardiogram examination at Beth Israel Hospital in Boston, Irving Fine (47) suffers a mild heart attack. He is admitted to the hospital.
August 23, 1962:
Early morning. Irving Gifford Fine dies of a heart attack at Beth Israel Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, aged 47 years, eight months, and 20 days.
August 24, 1962:
A funeral service in memory of Irving Fine takes place at the Leah and Mendel Berlin Memorial Chapel of Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts. Among those attending are Aaron Copland (61), Arthur Berger (50), Leonard Bernstein (43), Leon Kirchner (43), and Richard Wernick (28). His mortal remains are then laid to rest in Sharon Memorial Park, Sharon, Massachusetts.
February 1, 1963:
Romanza for wind quintet by Irving Fine (†0) is performed for the first time, at the Library of Congress, Washington.
March 22, 1987:
Diversions for piano by Irving Fine (†24) is performed for the first time, in the 92nd Street Y, New York, 28 years after he completed it.