1949 in British music

This is a summary of 1949 in music in the United Kingdom.

Events

 * February – On hearing of the death of Ernest Walker, Albert Schweitzer writes: "Now the dear, gentle, kind, distinguished Dr. Walker has left this life. Seeing him impressed me deeply each time."
 * 14 July – Kathleen Ferrier performs in the world premiere of Benjamin Britten's Spring Symphony in Amsterdam, with Eduard van Beinum and the Concertgebouw Orchestra, a work written specifically for her.
 * 5 September – Wagnerian tenor Walter Widdop makes his last appearance at The Proms, singing an aria from Lohengrin, only one day before his sudden death.
 * date unknown – The Tempo Records jazz record label is founded by Colin Pomroy, Jack Clough, and R.E.G. (Ron) Davies.

Popular music

 * "Snowy White Snow and Jingle Bells" by Billy Reid, performed by Dorothy Squires
 * "The Wedding of Lili Marlene" by Tommie Connor

Classical music: new works

 * Malcolm Arnold – Symphony No. 1
 * Havergal Brian – Symphony No. 8 in B flat Minor
 * Benjamin Britten – Spring Symphony
 * William Walton – Sonata for violin and piano (written for Yehudi Menuhin and Louis Kentner)

Opera

 * Benjamin Britten – Let's Make an Opera (The Little Sweep)
 * Ralph Vaughan Williams – ''The Pilgrim's Progress (original version)

Film and Incidental music

 * Richard Addinsell – The Passionate Friends directed by David Lean.
 * Arthur Bliss – Christopher Columbus, starring Fredric March.
 * Ernest Irving –
 * Kind Hearts and Coronets, starring Alec Guinness.
 * A Run for Your Money, starring Donald Houston and Meredith Edwards.
 * Whisky Galore! directed by Alexander Mackendrick, starring Basil Radford, Bruce Seton, Joan Greenwood and Gordon Jackson.

Musical theatre

 * 22 June – Her Excellency starring Cicely Courtneidge opens at the London Hippodrome
 * 15 September – King's Rhapsody, with music by Ivor Novello and lyrics by Christopher Hassall, opens at the Palace Theatre, London.

Musical films

 * Maytime in Mayfair, starring Anna Neagle
 * Melody in the Dark, starring Eunice Gayson
 * Trottie True, starring Jean Kent and Hugh Sinclair

Births

 * 4 January – Margaret Anne Marshall, Scottish soprano
 * 19 January – Robert Palmer, singer (died 2003)
 * 22 January – Phil Miller, English guitarist
 * 6 February – Mike Batt, singer and composer
 * 7 February – Alan Lancaster, bass player (Status Quo and The Party Boys)
 * 16 February – Lyn Paul, English singer and actress (The New Seekers)
 * 26 February – Dame Emma Kirkby, soprano
 * 24 March – Nick Lowe, singer-songwriter
 * 11 April – Lee Sheriden, singer with Brotherhood of Man
 * 13 May – Jane Glover, conductor
 * 18 May – Rick Wakeman, multi-instrumentalist and composer
 * 21 May – Rosalind Plowright, operatic mezzo-soprano
 * 14 June – Alan White, rock drummer (Yes) (died 2022)
 * 17 June – Snakefinger, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (The Residents and Chilli Willi and the Red Hot Peppers) (died 1987)
 * 24 June – John Illsley, singer-songwriter, bass player, and producer (Dire Straits)
 * 3 July – John Verity, guitarist (Argent)
 * 12 July – John Wetton, bass guitarist (King Crimson, Roxy Music)
 * 15 July
 * John Casken, composer
 * Trevor Horn, record producer, songwriter, musician and singer, sometimes called "The Man Who Invented the Eighties".
 * 17 July
 * Geezer Butler, bass player and songwriter (Black Sabbath, Geezer Butler Band, GZR, and Heaven & Hell)
 * Wayne Sleep, actor, dancer, and choreographer
 * 28 July – Simon Kirke, English drummer (Bad Company and Free)
 * 12 August
 * Mark Knopfler, singer, songwriter, guitarist and composer
 * Lou Martin, Irish-English pianist, songwriter, and producer (died 2012)
 * 28 August – Hugh Cornwell (The Stranglers)
 * 1 October – Allan Barty, folk musician (died 2008)
 * 29 October – David Paton, guitarist, singer and songwriter
 * 2 November – Frankie Miller, rock singer-songwriter
 * 23 November – Sandra Stevens, singer with Brotherhood of Man
 * 26 November – Martin Lee, singer with Brotherhood of Man
 * 3 December – Nicky Stevens, singer with Brotherhood of Man
 * 5 December – John Altman, film composer, arranger and conductor
 * 8 December – Ray Shulman, violinist, guitarist, and producer
 * 17 December – Paul Rodgers, rock vocalist
 * 22 December – Robin Gibb (died 2012) and Maurice Gibb (died 2003) (Bee Gees
 * date unknown – Eleanor Alberga, composer

Deaths

 * 11 January – Edward Goll, Bohemian-born pianist, 64
 * 15 January – Robert Evett, singer, actor, theatre manager and producer, 74
 * 21 February – Ernest Walker, composer, pianist, organist, teacher and writer on music, 78
 * 3 April – Basil Harwood, organist and composer, 89
 * 3 May – David John Tawe Jones, composer, 64
 * 6 September – Walter Widdop, operatic tenor, 51
 * 30 October – Stanley Kirkby, baritone singer and variety artist, 71
 * date unknown – Frank Clifford Harris, lyricist, 74