• Radamés receives the title of Citizen Carioca in a plenary session of the Federal District Chamber of Deputies on October 29, 1959.

• Held in July at the Theatro Municipal in Rio de Janeiro, the Radamés Gnattali Festival, promoted by the Brazilian Symphony Orchestra. In the program, in a world premiere, the Concerto para harpa e orquestra de cordas (1957), executado pelo harpista Gianni Fumagalli; a Brasiliana nº 3 (sinfonia)para orquestra; o Concerto nº 1 para Violino e Orquestra (1947), tendo como solista o violinista Anselmo Zlatopolsky, sob a regência do autor.

Concerto for harp and string orchestra
I – Allegro (excerpt)
Brazilian Symphony Orchestra
Gianni Fumagalli, harp
Radamés Gnattali, conductor
(Irineu Garcia’s Party – IG – 1007)

• The record company Festa releases 3 CDs with Radamés’ works:
  – Two concertos by Radamés Gnattali: Concerto for harp and string orchestra; Concerto nº 1 for violin and orchestra.
  – Radamés Gnattali : Concerto for mouth harmonica and orchestra ; Brasiliana nº 3 (symphony) for orchestra.
  – Villa-Lobos / Radamés Gnattali – com o duo Iberê Gomes Grosso (violoncelo) e Radamés Gnattali (piano) : Sonata nº 2 de Villa-Lobos ; Sonata nº 1 para violoncelo e piano e Flor da noite, ambas de Radamés.

• Composer, instrumentalist and conductor Heitor Villa-Lobos dies in Rio de Janeiro (RJ).

• Radamés composes:
  • 
    Carioca (choro) for
    
    alto saxophone and piano, with electric guitar, drums and double bass accompaniment
    (score not found)
  • Devaneio (fox) for alto saxophone and piano, with electric guitar, drums and double bass accompaniment
  • Insistência (Always Dreaming) for alto saxophone and piano, with electric guitar, drums and double bass accompaniment
  • Monotonia (samba-canção) for alto saxophone and piano, with electric guitar and double bass accompaniment
  • 
    Nostalgia (waltz) for alto saxophone and piano, with electric guitar and double bass accompaniment
    (score not found)
  • 
    Nocturnes for string orchestra and piano
    (from the original Four Nocturnes for string quartet and piano, 1958)
  • 
    Penumbra (fox)
    
    for alto saxophone and piano, with acoustic guitar, bass, drums
    (score not found)
  • 
    Poem No. 2 for violin and chamber orchestra
    – dedicated to Anselmo Zlatopolsky
  • 
    Romance (samba-canção)
    
    for alto saxophone and piano, with acoustic guitar, bass, drums
    (score not found)
  • Sonatina for flute and guitar (or piano) [1]
  • 
    Waltz, samba-canção and choro – for violin with two guitars, pandeiro and string orchestra
    – dedicated to violinist Irany Pinto
  • Sad Waltz for alto saxophone and piano, with double bass

• Odeon releases João Gilberto’s first album, Chega de Saudade, with arrangements and musical direction by Tom Jobim.

• After a 15-year absence, composer Cartola is back to promoting his songs, reintegrated into the music scene through journalist Sérgio Porto.
• On January 1st, the Cuban Revolution, led by Fidel Castro, is victorious.