- Jan 30 Jaak Nikolaas Lemmens, Flemish composer, dies at 58
- Mar 23 Nikolay Rubinstein, Russian pianist, conductor, and composer, dies at 45
- Mar 28 Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky, Russian composer (Boris Godunov), dies at 42 [OS=Mar 16]
- Mar 31 Gaetano Gaspari, composer, dies at 73
- Apr 16 George William Martin, English composer, dies at 56
- Jun 6 Henri Vieuxtemps, Belgian violin prodigy, composer, and teacher (Brussels Conservatory), dies at 61
- Jul 27 Johann Christian Lobe, German composer, dies at 84
- Aug 19 Joseph Labitzky, Bohemian composer, dies at 79
- Sep 7 Sidney Clopton Lanier, composer, dies at 39
- Sep 24 Luigi Ferdinando Casamorata, Italian composer, dies at 74
- Oct 22 Janis Cimze, Latvian composer, Father of Latvian choir music, dies at 67
- Nov 25 Theobald Boehm, German inventor of the modern flute, dies at 87