Events in Music
- Jan 5 Charles Garnier's new Opera opens in Paris
Music Premiere
Mar 3 Georges Bizet's last and greatest opera "Carmen" premieres in Paris

Georges Bizet
Music Premiere
Oct 25 The first performance of the Piano Concerto No. 1 by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky is given in Boston, Massachusetts with Hans von Bülow as soloist

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Birthdays in Music
- Jan 11 Reinhold Glière, Russian-Soviet composer, born in Kiev, Ukraine (d. 1956)
- Jan 28 Julian Antonio Carillo-Trujillo, composer
- Feb 2 Friedrich-Max "Fritz" Kreisler, Austrian-American violinist and composer (Alt-Wiener Tanzweisen), born in Vienna, Austria (d. 1962)
- Feb 4 Raymond Moulaert, Belgian pianist and composer, born in Brussels, Belgian (d. 1962)
- Feb 7 Erkki Melartin, Finnish composer (Juhlamarssi; Summer Symphony; Fantasia Apocaliptica), born in Käkisalmi, Grand Duchy of Finland (d. 1937)
- Feb 7 Walter Courvoisier, composer
- Feb 9 Sydney Hugo Nicholson, British choir director, organist, composer, and founder of the Royal School of Church Music, born in London (d. 1947)
- Feb 11 Sara Wennerberg-Reuter, composer
- Feb 26 Richard Wetz, German composer (Requiem, Op. 50 in B minor), born in Gleiwitz, Upper Silesia (now Gliwice, Poland) (d. 1935)
- Feb 28 Viliam Figus-Bystry, Slovakian composer, born in Banská Bystrica (d. 1937)
Maurice Ravel
Mar 7 Maurice Ravel, French composer, pianist and conductor (Daphnis et Chloé; Boléro), born in Ciboure, France (d. 1937)

Maurice Ravel
- Mar 9 Martin Shaw, English composer, born in London (d. 1958)
- Mar 10 Alexander Borisovich Goldenweiser, Russian pianist & composer (Contrapuntal Sketches), born in Kishinev, Russia (d. 1961)
- Mar 12 Julio Garreta, composer
- Mar 14 Norman O'Neill, English composer, born in Kensington, London (d. 1934)
- Mar 29 Paul Rubens, English musical comedy composer (Miss Hook of Holland), born in London (d. 1917)
- Apr 4 Jozef Szulc, Polish composer, born in Warsaw (d. 1956)
- Apr 4 Pierre Monteux, French-American conductor (Boston Symph Orch 1919-24), born in Paris, France (d. 1964)
- Apr 24 Jeno Huszka, Hungarian composer, born in Szeged, Hungary (d. 1960)
- May 18 Guido Alberto Fano, Italian composer and pianist, born in Padua (d. 1961)
- May 31 Italo Montemezzi, Italian composer (L'amore dei tre re), born in Vigasio, Italy (d. 1952)
- Jun 13 Max d'Ollone, French composer and writer (Le Ménestrel), born in Besançon, France (d. 1959)
- Jun 23 (Sidney Edward) "Eddie" Pola [Pollacsek], American radio and TV producer, and lyricist ("The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year"; "I Love The Way You Say Goodnight"), born in New York City (d. 1995)
- Jun 26 Camille Zeckwer, American composer, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 1924)
- Jul 17 Donald Francis Tovey, Eton England, musicologist/composer
- Jul 30 James W. Tate, English composer, born in Wolverhampton, Staffordshire (d. 1922)
- Aug 6 Marcel Labey, French conductor and composer, born in Vésinet, France (d. 1968)
- Aug 9 Albert William Ketèlbey, British pianist and composer (In A Monastery Garden), born in Aston, Birmingham (d. 1959)
- Aug 9 Reynaldo Hahn, Venezuelan-French singer, composer, conductor, and music critic, born in Caracas, Venezuela (d. 1947)
- Aug 12 Ettore Panizza, composer
- Aug 12 Mezio Agostini, Italian composer, born in Fano, Italy (d. 1944)
- Aug 15 Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, African-British composer (Hiawatha's Wedding Feast), born in London, England (d. 1912)
- Sep 10 Paul Scheinpflug, German composer, born in Loschwitz, Germany (d. 1937)
- Sep 17 Vyacheslav Gavrilovich Karatigin, composer (d. 1925)
- Sep 22 Mikalojus Konstantinas Ciurlionis, composer
- Oct 2 Henry Février, French composer, born in Paris (d. 1957)
- Oct 5 Cyril Rootham, English organist, composer, and educator born in Redland, Bristol (d. 1938)
- Nov 3 Emīls Dārziņš, Latvian composer, born in Jaunpiebalga, Russian Empire (d. 1910)
- Nov 13 Rogelio del Villar, Spanish composer, born in Leon, Spain (d. 1937)
- Dec 14 Dobri Khristov, Bulgarian composer, born in Varna, Bulgaria (d. 1941)
- Dec 15 Friedrich Niggli, Swiss composer, born in Aarburg, Switzerland (d. 1959)
- Dec 22 Antoine Mariotte, French composer, born in Avignon (d. 1944)
Deaths in Music
- Jan 18 Joseph Philbrick Webster, composer, dies at 55
- Jan 25 Leopold Jansa, composer, dies at 79
- Feb 1 William Sterndale Bennett, English composer, dies at 58
- Feb 19 Jean B Vuillaume, French violin maker (octobas), dies at 76
- Mar 10 Joseph Daussoigne-Méhul, French composer, dies at 84
- Mar 18 Ferdinand Laub, composer, dies at 43
- Mar 30 Marie Moke Pleyel, composer, dies at 63
- Apr 24 Jose Maria de la Purificacion Ventura, composer, dies at 58
- May 23 Johann Wilhelm Mangold, German composer, dies at 78
Georges Bizet
Jun 3 Georges Bizet, French composer (Carmen), dies of a heart attack at 36

Georges Bizet
- Jun 15 Johan Peter Cronhamm, Swedish composer, dies at 72
- Jul 17 Gábor Mátray, Hungarian composer and musicologist, dies at 77
- Sep 15 Louise Farrenc, French pianist, composer and only female professor at the Paris Conservatory during the 19th century, dies at 71
- Sep 24 William Walker, American composer (The Southern Harmony), dies at 66
- Oct 28 William Howard Glover, English composer, dies at 56
- Dec 22 Nikolay Alexeyevich Titov, composer, dies at 75