May 14, 1891:
Naum Izrailevich Lur’ya (Arthur Vincent Lourié) is born in Propoysk, Mogilev Province of Russia (Slavgorod, Belarus), the son of Izrail Khatzkelevich Lur’ya, a wood industrialist, and Anna Yakovlevna Levitin, an amateur pianist. (Lourié’s birth is shrouded in mystery. There is no contemporary record of it, and he himself gave different dates and places at different times during his life. This date and place should be viewed with caution.)
June 4, 1913:
Artur Sergeyevich Lurye (22) marries Yadviga Vigelmovna Tsibulskaya, a Polish pianist
January 1, 1914:
Artur Sergeyevich Lurye (22), Benedikt Livshits, and Georgi Yakulov sign the manifesto We and the West, laying out a modernist path in painting, poetry, and music.
February 24, 1914:
Artur Sergeyevich Lurye (22) participates with Benedict Livshits and Georgy Yakulov in publishing the manifesto of St. Petersburg Futurists: We and the West: answer to Marinetti.
November 4, 1917:
A group calling itself the Presidents of Planet Earth issues a manifesto in St. Petersburg calling for the overthrow of the Provisional Government of Russia. Among the signatories is Artur Sergeyevich Lurye (26).
December 30, 1917:
Artur Sergeyevich Lurye (26) and the artists Vladimir Tatlin and Nikolay Punin go to see Commissar of Culture Anatoly Lunacharsky for permission to stage Khlebnikov’s play Lady Death Makes a Mistake. Lunacharsky does not give his permission but instead offers them all jobs in the Narkompros (People’s Commissariat for Enlightenment). Lurye will lead MUZO, the music division.
June 14, 1918:
A decree signed by Commissar of Culture Anatoly Vasilyevich Lunacharsky and Director of MUZO Artur Sergeyevich Lurye (27) nationalizes all musical instruments, books, and scores belonging to palaces and private institutions in Russia.
October 5, 1918:
A decree signed by Commissar of Culture Anatoly Vasilyevich Lunacharsky and Director of MUZO Artur Sergeyevich Lurye (27) reorganizes the Russian Musical Society.
November 16, 1918:
A decree signed by Commissar of Culture Anatoly Vasilyevich Lunacharsky and Director of MUZO Artur Sergeyevich Lurye (27) nationalizes music publishers, stores, and warehouses in Russia.
March 26, 1919:
A decree signed by Commissar of Culture Anatoly Vasilyevich Lunacharsky and Director of MUZO Artur Sergeyevich Lurye (27) nationalizes keyboard instrument makers and sellers.
October 13, 1921:
The eight-year marriage of Artur Sergeyevich Lurye (30) and Yadviga Tsibulskaya, is annulled.
August 17, 1922:
Artur Sergeyevich Lurye (31) emigrates from Petrograd on the steamship Haken. He plans to attend a conference of microtonal composers in Berlin. He will never see Russia again. (It is unclear why Lourié emigrated but he mentioned the death of Alyeksandr Blok as a pivotal moment.)
November 10, 1922:
Igor Stravinsky (40) is reunited with his mother, Anna Kyrillovna Stravinsky, in Stettin (Szczecin). She has been allowed to leave Russia partly through the efforts of Artur Sergeyevich Lurye (31).
January 14, 1924:
Igor Stravinsky (41) meets Arthur Lourié (32) in Brussels.
December 27, 1925:
Sonata for violin and double bass by Arthur Lourié (34) is performed for the first time, in an International Composers’ Guild concert in Aeolian Hall, New York. Also premiered are excerpts from Moments for piano by Dane Rudhyar (30).
April 20, 1926:
Arthur Lourié (34) is granted French citizenship.
April 17, 1931:
Sinfonia Dialectica, the first symphony of Arthur Lourié (39), is performed for the first time, in Philadelphia.
November 26, 1940:
Arthur Lourié (49) marries his third wife, Elisabeta Alyekseyevna, Countess Belyovskaya-Zhukovskaya, a descendant of Tsar Alyeksandr II, in Amélie-les Bains in the eastern Pyrenees.
January 19, 1941:
Serge Koussevitzky writes to the American consulate in Marseille, pleading for a visa for Arthur Lourié (49) because his “presence here is urgently important to me in connection with musical plans.” (Móricz/Morrison, 125)
April 29, 1941:
The United States consulate in Marseille issues a visa to Arthur Lourié (49). It was achieved largely through the efforts of Serge Koussevitzky.
May 12, 1941:
Arthur Lourié (49) reaches the United States from Vichy France. His wife will join him in August.
November 7, 1941:
Symphony no.2 “Kormtchaya” by Arthur Lourié (50) is performed for the first time, in Boston.
April 30, 1952:
Little Gidding, four intonations for tenor and instruments by Arthur Lourié (60) to words of Eliot, is performed for the first time, in Paris.
October 12, 1966:
Arthur Vincent Lourié (Artur Sergeyevich Lurye) dies in Princeton, New Jersey, USA, aged 75 years, four months, and 28 days.
October 15, 1966:
A requiem mass in honor of Arthur Vincent Lourié is celebrated in St. Paul’s Roman Catholic Church, Princeton, New Jersey. His mortal remains are laid to rest behind the church.