Classical Music Timeline: 1870s

This is one of a series of postings of important classical music dates, from the 17th century to the present. Included are the date and location of the birth and death of composers, and the premiere date and location of the first public performance of works. When the premiere date and location is unknown, the date or year of completion of the work is given. Though reasonably comprehensive, this is a subjective list, so the choice of composers and works is mine. If you find any errors, or if you can offer a premiere date and location for a work where only the completion date or year is listed, please post a comment here.

1870
January 5 – Liebeslieder Waltzes, op. 52, by Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) was first performed in Vienna, Austria

April 8 – Charles Auguste de Bériot (1802-1870) died in Brussels, Belgium

1871
Edvard Grieg (1843-1907) completed The Bridal Procession Passes By, op. 19, no. 2 [later orchestrated by Johan Halvorsen (1864-1935) as the Norwegian Bridal Procession]

1872
Edvard Grieg (1843-1907) completed the incidental music for Sigurd Jorsalfar, op. 22

May 1 – Hugo Alfvén (1872-1960) was born in Stockholm, Sweden

October 12 – Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958) was born in Down Ampney, Gloucestershire, England

November 10 – L’Arlésienne Suite No. 1, op. 23bis, incidental music by Georges Bizet (1837-1875) was first performed in Paris, France

1873
January 19 – Cello Concerto No. 1 in A minor, op. 33, by Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921) was first performed in Paris, France

April 1 – Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943) was born in Oneg, Novgorod, Russia

April 22 – Wiener Blut, op. 354, waltz by Johann Strauss II (1825-1899) was first performed in Vienna, Austria

November 2 – Variations on a Theme by Joseph Haydn, op. 56a, by Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) was first performed in Vienna, Austria

November 10 – Henri Rabaud (1873-1949) was born in Paris, France

December 11 – String Quartet No. 1 in C minor, op. 51, no. 1, by Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) was first performed in Vienna, Austria

1874
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) completed Der Abend (The Evening) from Three Quartets, op. 64, no. 2

January 4 – Josef Suk (1874-1935) was born in Křečovice, Czech Republic

May 22Requiem by Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901) was first performed in Milan, Italy

June 22 – Modest Mussorgsky (1839-1881) completed Pictures at an Exhibition, for piano

September 21 – Gustav Holst (1874-1934) was born in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England

1875
January 11 – Reinhold Glière (1875-1956) was born in Kyiv, Ukraine

January 24 – Danse macabre, op. 40, by Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921) was first performed in Paris, France

February 2 – Fritz Kreisler (1875-1962) was born in Vienna, Austria

March 3 – Carmen, opera by Georges Bizet (1837-1875) was first performed in Paris, France

March 7 – Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) was born in Ciboure, France

May 8 – Neue Liebeslieder Waltzes, op. 65, by Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) was first performed in Karlsruhe, Germany

June 3 – Georges Bizet (1837-1875) died in Bougival, France

September 15 – Louise Farrenc (1804-1875) died in Paris, France

October 31 – Piano Concerto No. 4 in C minor, op. 44, by Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921) was first performed in Paris, France

November 18 – Piano Quartet No. 3 in C minor, op. 60, by Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) was first performed in Vienna, Austria

1876
Edvard Grieg (1843-1907) completed Ballade in the Form of Variations on a Norwegian Folk Song in G minor, op. 24, for piano

January 12 – Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari (1876-1948) was born in Venice, Italy

January 28 – Sérénade mélancolique in B♭ minor for violin and orchestra, op. 26, by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) was first performed in Moscow, Russia

February 24 – Peer Gynt, op. 23, incidental music by Edvard Grieg (1843-1907) was first performed in Oslo, Norway

November 4 – Symphony No. 1 in C minor, op. 68, by Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) was first performed in Karlsruhe, Germany

November 18 – Slavonic March in B♭ minor, op. 31, by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) was first performed in Moscow, Russia

November 23 – Manuel de Falla (1876-1946) was born in Cádiz, Spain

December 10 – Serenade for Strings in E major, op. 22, by Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904) was first performed in Prague, Czech Republic

1877
March 4 – Swan Lake, op. 20, ballet by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) was first performed in Moscow, Russia

March 9 – Francesca da Rimini: Symphonic Fantasy after Dante, op. 32, symphonic poem by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) was first performed in Moscow, Russia

July 27 – Ernst von Dohnányi (1877-1960) was born in Bratislava, Slovakia

November 21 – Sigfrid Karg-Elert (1877-1933) was born in Oberndorf am Neckar, Germany

December 2 – Symphonic Variations, op. 78, by Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904) was first performed in Prague, Czech Republic

December 9 – Cello Concerto in D minor by Édouard Lalo (1823-1892) was first performed in Paris, France

December 9 – Romance in F minor for Violin and Orchestra, op. 11, by Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904) was first performed in Prague, Czech Republic

December 30 – Symphony No. 2 in D major, op. 73, by Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) was first performed in Vienna, Austria

1878
Vincent d’Indy (1851-1931) completed The Enchanted Forest (La forêt enchantée), op. 8

February 22 – Symphony No. 4 in F minor, op. 36, by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) was first performed in Moscow, Russia

1879
L’Arlésienne Suite No. 2, incidental music by Georges Bizet (1837-1875) and compiled by Ernest Guiraud (1837-1892), was published

Nocturne in B major, op. 40, by Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904) was first performed in Nice, France

January 1 – Violin Concerto in D major, op. 77, by Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) was first performed in Leipzig, Germany

February 26 – Frank Bridge (1879-1941) was born in Brighton, England

March 4 – Symphony No. 2 in B minor (revised) by Alexander Borodin (1833-1887) was first performed in Saint Petersburg, Russia

May 16 – Czech Suite in D major, op. 39, by Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904) was first performed in Prague, Czech Republic

July 9 – Ottorino Respighi (1879-1936) was born in Bologna, Italy

October 19 – Symphony No. 5 in F minor for Organ, op. 42, no. 1, by Charles-Marie Widor (1844-1937) was first performed in Paris, France

October 21 – Joseph Canteloube (1879-1957) was born in Annonay, France

October 29 – Eight Pieces for Piano, op. 76, by Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) was first performed in Berlin, Germany

November 8 – Violin Sonata No. 1 in G major, op. 78, by Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) was first performed in Bonn, Germany

1860s

1880s

Classical Music Timeline: 1850s

This is one of a series of postings of important classical music dates, from the 17th century to the present. Included are the date and location of the birth and death of composers, and the premiere date and location of the first public performance of works. When the premiere date and location is unknown, the date or year of completion of the work is given. Though reasonably comprehensive, this is a subjective list, so the choice of composers and works is mine. If you find any errors, or if you can offer a premiere date and location for a work where only the completion date or year is listed, please post a comment here.

1850
Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921) completed Symphony in A major

September 21 – Hans Sitt (1860-1922) was born in Prague, Czech Republic

November 17 – String Quintet in C major, D. 956, op. posth. 163, by Franz Schubert (1797-1828) was first performed in Vienna, Austria

1851
February 6 – Symphony No. 3 in E♭ major, op. 97, “Rhenish”, by Robert Schumann (1810-1856) was first performed in Düsseldorf, Germany

March 27 – Vincent d’Indy (1851-1931) was born in Paris, France

1852
Robert Schumann (1810-1856) completed his final revision of the Symphonic Etudes, op. 13, for piano

March 14 – Manfred Overture, op. 115, by Robert Schumann (1810-1856) was first performed in Leipzig, Germany

November 21 – Francisco Tárrega (1852-1909) was born in Villarreal, Spain

1853
March 6 – Prelude, Act 1, from the opera La Traviata by Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901) was first performed in Venice, Italy

May 15 – The 2nd version of Symphony No. 4 in D minor, op. 120 (much preferred by Clara Schumann and most often performed today) by Robert Schumann (1810-1856) was first performed in Düsseldorf, Germany

1854
February 23 – Les préludes, S. 97, symphonic poem by Franz Liszt (1811-1886) was first performed in Weimar, Germany

February 27 – Robert Schumann (1810-1856) attempted to drown himself in the Rhine River and, after being rescued, committed himself to a sanatorium in the Endenich quarter of Bonn, Germany, remaining there for the rest of his life.

July 3 – Leoš Janáček (1854-1928) was born in Hukvaldy, Czech Republic

September 1 – Engelbert Humperdinck (1854-1921) was born in Siegburg, Germany

1855
January 20 – Ernest Chausson (1855-1899) was born in Paris, France

February 17 – Piano Concerto No. 1 in E♭ major, S. 124, by Franz Liszt (1811-1886) was first performed in Weimar, Germany

May 12 – Anatoly Lyadov (1855-1914) was born in Saint Petersburg, Russia

June 13 – Overture to the opera I vespri siciliani by Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901) was first performed in Paris, France

December 3 – Piano Trio in G minor, op. 15, by Bedřich Smetana (1824-1884) was first performed in Prague, Czech Republic

1856
Mikhail Glinka (1804-1857) completed the orchestral version of Valse-Fantaisie, in B minor

May 26 – George Templeton Strong (1856-1948) was born in New York, New York

July 29 – Robert Schumann (1810-1856) died in Bonn, Germany

1857
January 7 – Piano Concerto No. 2 in A major, S. 125, by Franz Liszt (1811-1886) was first performed in Weimar, Germany

February 15 – Mikhail Glinka (1804-1857) died in Berlin, Germany

June 2 – Edward Elgar (1857-1934) was born in Lower Broadheath, Worcestershire, England

September 5 – A Faust Symphony, S. 108, by Franz Liszt (1811-1886) was first performed in Weimar, Germany

1858
Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921) completed Piano Concerto No. 1 in D major, op. 17

April 22 – Ethel Smyth (1858-1944) was born in Sidcup, England

November 24 – Tritsch-Tratsch Polka in A major, op. 214, by Johann Strauss II (1825-1899) was first performed in Vienna, Austria

1859
January 22 – Piano Concerto No. 1 in D minor, op. 15, by Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) was first performed in Hanover, Germany

November 19 – Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov (1859-1935) was born in Gatchina, Russia

December 2 – Ave Maria, in F major, op. 12, by Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) was first performed in Hamburg, Germany

1840s

1860s