August 2, 1905:
Karl Amadeus Hartmann is born at Elvirastraße 18 in Munich-Neuhausen, Germany the youngest of four children born to Friedrich Richard Hartmann, schoolteacher and painter, and Gertrud Schwamm.
September 10, 1919:
Karl Amadeus Hartmann (14) is admitted as a student at the Lehrerbildungsanstalt in Pasing, near Munich.
February 15, 1924:
Karl Amadeus Hartmann (18) is admitted to the Staatliche Akademie der Tonkunst in Munich.
January 4, 1932:
Sonatine for piano by Karl Amadeus Hartmann (26) is performed for the first time, in Munich.
March 6, 1932:
Toccata variata for ten winds, piano, and percussion by Karl Amadeus Hartmann (26) is performed for the first time, in Munich.
January 4, 1933:
Piano Sonata no.1 by Karl Amadeus Hartmann (27) is performed for the first time, in Munich.
December 22, 1934:
Karl Amadeus Hartmann (29) marries Elisabeth Reussmann, daughter of the wealthy manager of a ball bearing factory. Her father does not approve of the marriage.
September 2, 1935:
Miserae, a symphonic poem by Karl Amadeus Hartmann (30), is performed for the first time, at the ISCM Festival in Prague.
October 9, 1935:
In spite of (or perhaps because of) his recent success at a Prague meeting of the ISCM, the Reichsmusikkammer informs Karl Amadeus Hartmann (30) that he must seek permission from them two weeks in advance for any trip abroad.
December 6, 1935:
Since he has not provided sufficient evidence of his Aryan heritage, the Reichsmusikkammer directs a letter to Karl Amadeus Hartmann (30) demanding the baptismal certificates of his parents and grandparents.
January 23, 1936:
Karl Amadeus Hartmann (30) receives a telegram informing him that he has received the first prize in an international string quartet competition sponsored by Carillon, a chamber music society based in Geneva.
April 27, 1945:
While staying at the house of his in-laws on Lake Starnberg, Karl Amadeus Hartmann (39) witnesses 20,000 prisoners from Dachau being marched past shortly before the arrival of the American army. This will inspire his second piano sonata which he will inscribe with the words “Unending was the line--unending was the misery--unending was the suffering.”
September 24, 1945:
Karl Amadeus Hartmann (40) signs a contract with the Bavarian State Theatre in Munich naming him Dramaturge until 31 August 1946. It will be approved by the American military government on 26 September. The position requires him to report to the theatre management on developments in opera and music theatre, and oversee musical productions of recent works. He will hold this position until his death.
October 7, 1945:
Largely through the efforts of dramaturge Karl Amadeus Hartmann (40), the first orchestral concert in Munich since the war takes place in the Prinzregententheater. It is small, but one of the few venues not damaged or destroyed by bombs.
March 11, 1946:
Karl Amadeus Hartmann (40) signs an affidavit for the denazification court about his activities over the last 13 years. It contains several lies, which are never checked by the judges.
July 26, 1947:
China kämpft, an overture by Karl Amadeus Hartmann (41) is performed for the first time, in Darmstadt.
April 2, 1948:
Des simplicius simplicissimus Jugend, a chamber opera by Karl Amadeus Hartmann (42) to words of Scherchen, Petzet, and the composer after von Grimmelshausen, is performed for the first time, in a concert setting in Munich. Also premiered is Hartmann’s Symphony no.4 for strings. See 20 October 1949 and 9 July 1957.
March 29, 1949:
Karl Amadeus Hartmann (43) is awarded the music prize of the City of Munich.
October 20, 1949:
Simplicius simplicissimus, a chamber opera by Karl Amadeus Hartmann (44) to words of Scherchen, Petzet, and the composer after von Grimmelshausen, is staged for the first time, in Cologne. See 2 April 1948 and 9 July 1957.
February 10, 1950:
Symphony no.3 by Karl Amadeus Hartmann (44) is performed for the first time, over the airwaves of Bayerischer Rundfunk, originating in Munich.
September 10, 1950:
Symphony no.2 (Adagio for large orchestra) by Karl Amadeus Hartmann (45) is performed for the first time, in Donaueschingen.
April 21, 1951:
Symphonie concertante (Symphony no.5) by Karl Amadeus Hartmann (45) is performed for the first time, in Stuttgart.
April 24, 1953:
Symphony no.6 by Karl Amadeus Hartmann (47) is performed for the first time, in Munich.
October 10, 1953:
Concerto for piano, winds, and strings by Karl Amadeus Hartmann (48) is performed for the first time, in Donaueschingen. Also premiered is Portrait for strings by Karel Husa (32).
June 22, 1955:
The Symphony no.1 for alto and orchestra by Karl Amadeus Hartmann (49) to words of Whitman is performed for the first time, in Vienna. It is a reworking of his Symphonisches Fragment composed in 1936.
June 26, 1955:
Lamento, a cantata for soprano and piano by Karl Amadeus Hartmann (49) to words of Gryphius, is performed for the first time, in Schloss Mainau, Konstanz.
May 25, 1956:
Concerto for viola with piano, winds, and percussion by Karl Amadeus Hartmann (50) is performed for the first time, in Frankfurt-am-Main.
June 26, 1957:
Karl Amadeus Hartmann (51) declines an offer of a professorship at the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik in Cologne. He wants to stay in Munich.
July 9, 1957:
A revised version of Simplicius simplicissimus, a chamber opera by Karl Amadeus Hartmann (51) to words of Scherchen, Petzet, and the composer after von Grimmelshausen, is staged for the first time, in the Nationaltheater, Mannheim. See 2 April 1948 and 20 October 1949.
March 15, 1959:
Symphony no.7 by Karl Amadeus Hartmann (53) is performed for the first time, over the airwaves of NDR originating in Hamburg.
June 27, 1961:
Karl Amadeus Hartmann (55) is offered the directorship of the Berlin Municipal Conservatorium of Music. He will decline, not wishing to leave Munich.
January 25, 1963:
Symphony no.8 by Karl Amadeus Hartmann (57) is performed for the first time, over the airwaves of WDR originating in Cologne.
December 5, 1963:
Karl Amadeus Hartmann dies of pancreatic cancer in Munich, West Germany, aged 58 years, four months, and three days. His earthly remains will be laid to rest in Waldfriedhof München.
November 12, 1964:
Scenes for baritone and orchestra on texts from Giraudoux’s Sodom et Gomorrhe by Karl Amadeus Hartmann (†0) is performed for the first time, in Frankfurt-am-Main.
January 14, 1966:
Jewish Chronicle for voices and orchestra by Karl Amadeus Hartmann (†2), Hans Werner Henze (39), Boris Blacher, Paul Dessau, and Rudolf Wagner-Régeney is performed for the first time, in Cologne.
October 23, 1968:
Friede Anno 48, a cantata for soprano, chorus, and piano by Karl Amadeus Hartmann (†4) to words of Gryphius, is performed for the first time, in Cologne 32 years after it was composed.
June 17, 1969:
Kammerkonzert for clarinet, string quartet, and string orchestra by Karl Amadeus Hartmann (†5) is performed for the first time, in Zürich.
November 29, 1974:
Little Concerto for percussion and strings by Karl Amadeus Hartmann (†10) is performed publicly for the first time, in Brunswick.
October 9, 1975:
Symphonic Hymn for orchestra by Karl Amadeus Hartmann (†11) is performed for the first time, in Munich, 33 years after it was composed.
June 18, 1980:
Song for trumpet and wind ensemble by Karl Amadeus Hartmann (†16) is performed for the first time, in Munich.
June 13, 1982:
Piano Sonata no.2 “27 April 1945” by Karl Amadeus Hartmann (†18) is performed for the first time, in Munich, 37 years after it was composed. Hartmann wrote it after witnessing 20,000 prisoners from Dachau being marched past the house of his in-laws on Lake Starnberg shortly before the American army arrived in 1945. He inscribes the work “Unending was the line--unending was the misery--unending was the suffering.”
February 5, 1984:
Suite no.2 for violin by Karl Amadeus Hartmann (†20) is performed for the first time, in Spokane, Washington 57 years after it was composed.
April 6, 1986:
Suite no.1 for violin by Karl Amadeus Hartmann (†22) is performed for the first time, in Spokane, Washington, 59 years after it was composed.
June 28, 1987:
Sonata no.1 and Sonata no.2 for violin and piano by Karl Amadeus Hartmann (†23) are performed for the first time, in Munich 60 years after they were composed.
May 28, 1988:
Wachsfigurenkabinett, five chamber operas by Karl Amadeus Hartmann (†24) to words of Bormann, are performed completely for the first time, in Munich, 58 years after they were composed. The five are Leben und Sterben des heiligen Teufels, Der Mann, der vom Tode auferstand, Chaplin-Ford-Trott, Fürwahr, and Die Witwe von Ephesus. The first opera was performed in 1930.
May 20, 1989:
Sinfonia tragica for orchestra by Karl Amadeus Hartmann (†25) is performed for the first time, in Munich, 49 years after it was composed.
November 22, 1989:
Little Suite no.1 and Little Suite no.2 for piano by Karl Amadeus Hartmann (†25) are performed for the first time, in Cologne, 63 years after they were composed.
May 10, 1990:
Symphony: Klagegesang for orchestra by Karl Amadeus Hartmann (†26) is performed for the first time, in Pittsburgh 43 years after it was composed.
December 29, 1990:
First Piano Sonata by Karl Amadeus Hartmann (†27) is performed for the first time, in the Philharmonie, Cologne, 58 years after it was composed.
May 30, 1992:
Scherzo for percussion ensemble by Karl Amadeus Hartmann (†28) is performed for the first time, in Munich 36 years after it was composed.