Events in Music
- Apr 20 Crosby Opera House opens in Chicago, Illinois; destroyed in the Great Fire of 1871
- Apr 28 Giacomo Meyerbeer's opera "L'Africaine" premieres in Paris
Music Premiere
Jun 10 Richard Wagner's opera "Tristan und Isolde" premieres in Munich, Germany
Richard Wagner
Music Premiere
Dec 17 Franz Schubert's Symphony No. 8 "Unfinished Symphony" premieres in Vienna with Johann von Herbeck conducting
Franz Schubert
Birthdays in Music
- Jan 1 Giuseppe Ferrata, composer
- Jan 3 Henry Lytton, British actor and opera singer (The Mikado), born in London, England (d. 1936)
- Feb 5 Harvey Worthington Loomis, American composer (Lyrics of the Red Man), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 1930)
- Mar 2 Théophile "Théo" Ysaÿe, Belgian composer and pianist, born in Verviers, Belgium (d. 1918)
- Mar 3 Alexander Winkler, Russian composer, born in Kharkiv (d. 1935)
- Apr 13 Heinrich Reinhardt, Austrian composer, born in Pressburg (d. 1922)
- May 5 Felicjan Szopski, Polish composer, born in Krzeszowice, Poland (d. 1939)
- May 9 August de Boeck, Flemish composer, born in Merchtem, Belgium (d. 1937)
- May 22 Enric Morera i Viura, Spanish musician and composer, born in Barcelona (d. 1942)
- Jun 4 Guido Gasperini, Italian composer, born in Florence (d. 1942)
- Jun 9 Carl Nielsen, Danish violinist and composer (Det Uudslukkelige), born in Sortelung, Denmark (d. 1931)
- Jun 9 Lucien-Denis-Gabriel-Alberic Magnard, French composer
- Jun 14 Auguste Serieyx, French composer and pedagogue, born in Amiens, France (d. 1949)
- Jun 15 Paul Gilson, Belgian composer, born in Brussels (d. 1942)
- Jun 21 Herbert Brewer, English composer, born in Gloucester, England (d. 1928)
- Jul 6 Emile Jaques-Dalcroze, Swiss musician, composer, and pedagogue (Dalcroze Eurythmics), born in Vienna, Austria (d. 1950)
- Jul 21 Robert Kahn, German composer, born in Mannheim (d. 1951)
- Jul 29 Nicola Spinelli, composer
- Aug 10 Alexander K Glazunov, composer (Chopiniana), born in St Petersburg, Russia
- Sep 9 Edwin H. Lemare, British organist and composer (Andantino in D-flat, also known as "Moonlight and Roses"), born in Ventnor, on the Isle of Wight (d. 1934)
- Sep 11 Alfred Hollins, British composer, born in Hull, Yorkshire (d. 1942)
- Oct 1 Paul Dukas, French composer, born in Paris (d. 1935)
- Nov 12 Frans "Sas" van Aerschot, Flemish operetta actor (Paljas), (d. 1939)
- Nov 26 Earl Ross Drake, American composer, born in Aurora, Illinois (d. 1916)
Jean Sibelius
Dec 8 Jean Sibelius, Finnish composer (Valse Triste, Finlandia), born in Tavastehus, Finland (d. 1957)
Jean Sibelius
- Dec 13 Gustav Luders, German-American composer, born in Bremen, Germany (d. 1913)
Deaths in Music
- Apr 1 Giuditta Pasta, Italian soprano, dies at 67
- Apr 8 John Park, Scottish composer, dies at 61
- Apr 26 Charles J Sax, Belgium musician & father of Adolphe Sax inventor of the saxophone, dies at 74
- Jun 15 Jakob Zeugheer, Swiss composer, dies at 61
- Jul 24 Johan Filip von Schantz, composer, dies at 30
- Aug 17 Johann Nepomuk Poissl, Bavarian composer, dies at 82
- Aug 27 Józef Nowakowski, Polish pianist and composer, dies at 64
- Sep 24 Frantiszek Sołtyk, Polish composer, dies at 81
- Oct 8 Heinrich Wilhelm Ernst, Moravian violinist and composer, dies at 51
- Oct 12 William Vincent Wallace, Irish-American violinist (known as the 'Australian Paganini'), and composer (Maritana), dies at 53
- Nov 6 Thérèse Wartel, French pianist and composer, dies at 51
- Nov 23 Josef Leopold Zvonař, Czech organist and composer, dies at 41
- Dec 6 Sebastian de Iradier, Spanish composer (Arreglito), dies at 56
- Dec 18 Francisco Manuel da Silva, composer, dies at 70