This article is about music-related events in

1879 Events January–March * January 1 – The Specie Resumption Act takes effect. The United States Note is valued the same as gold, for the first time since the American Civil War. * January 11 – The Anglo-Zulu War begins. * Janu ...

Specific locations

* 1879 in Norwegian music

Events

* January 1 – The Violin Concerto of

Johannes Brahms Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid- Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped wit ...

is premiered in Leipzig. Joseph Joachim was the soloist with Brahms conducting. * December 31 –

Gilbert and Sullivan Gilbert and Sullivan was a Victorian era, Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the dramatist W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911) and the composer Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900), who jointly created fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which ...

's comic opera '' The Pirates of Penzance'' opens at the

Fifth Avenue Theatre Fifth Avenue Theatre was a Broadway theatre in New York City in the United States located at 31 West 28th Street and Broadway (1185 Broadway). It was demolished in 1939. Built in 1868, it was managed by Augustin Daly in the mid-1870s. In 1877, ...

in New York City (following a token performance the day before for U.K. copyright reasons in Paignton, Devon). * Engelbert Humperdinck becomes the first winner of the Mendelssohn Award awarded by the Mendelssohn Stiftung (foundation) of Berlin. * The

Monte Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra The Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra (french: Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo, OPMC) is the main orchestra in the Principality of Monaco. The orchestra gives concerts primarily in the Auditorium Rainier III, but also performs at the Salle ...

gains a permanent home at the Garnier Palace.

Published popular music

* "

Oh, Dem Golden Slippers "Oh, Dem Golden Slippers" is a minstrel song penned by African-American James A. Bland in 1879, is particularly well known as a bluegrass instrumental standard. By 1880, the song have exceeded the 100,000 copies sold. Overview A minstrel show ...

" by

James A. Bland James Alan Bland (October 22, 1854 – May 5, 1911), also known as Jimmy Bland, was an American musician, song writer, and minstrel performer. He is best known for the song "Carry Me Back to Old Virginny" which was the official State Song o ...

* "In the Morning By the Bright Light" by James A. Bland * "My Visit to the Opera" by

Joseph P. Skelly Joseph Paul Skelly, also abbreviated J. P. Skelley, (29 July 1850 — 23 June 1895) was a composer of music. He arranged the music for songs published as sheet music. For other songs he composed the words and music. The Lester S. Levy Sheet Mus ...

* "Some Day I'll Wander Back Again", words by

Arthur W. French Arthur Wells French (1846–1916) was a journalist from Connecticut who was also a successful songwriter of sentimental songs in the 1870s and 1880s. Born in Monroe, Connecticut, he moved to Bridgeport as a young man. He was inclined to write, e ...

, music by

William A. Huntley William A. Penno (1843–1929), known by his stage name William A. Huntley, was a composer, music teacher, and vocal and instrumental performer in minstrel and vaudeville traditions. Playing his 5-string banjo before crowds that came to number i ...

Classical music

* Henri Duparc – ''Le Manoir de Rosemonde'' *

Gabriel Fauré Gabriel Urbain Fauré (; 12 May 1845 – 4 November 1924) was a French composer, organist, pianist and teacher. He was one of the foremost French composers of his generation, and his musical style influenced many 20th-century composers ...

– Berceuse, for violin and piano * César Franck –

Piano Quintet In classical music, a piano quintet is a work of chamber music written for piano and four other instruments, most commonly a string quartet (i.e., two violins, viola, and cello). The term also refers to the group of musicians that plays a pian ...

* Carl Goldmark **Penthesilea, Op.31 **Piano Trio No.2, Op.33 *

Asger Hamerik Asger Hamerik (Hammerich) (April 8, 1843 – July 13, 1923) was a Danish composer of the late romantic period. Life and career Born in Frederiksberg (near Copenhagen), he studied music with J.P.E. Hartmann and Niels Gade, being related to the f ...

– ''Concert Romance for Cello and Piano'' *

Stephen Heller Stephen Heller (15 May 1813 – 14 January 1888) was a Hungarian pianist, teacher, and composer whose career spanned the period from Schumann to Bizet. Heller was an influence for later Romantic composers. He outlived his reputation, and was a ...

**4 Mazurkas, Op.148 **20 Preludes, Op.150 * Hans Huber **10 Ländler vom Luzerner See, Op.47 **Eine Lustspiel-Ouverture, Op.50 * Franz Lachner – ''Elegie for Flute and Organ'' * Max Meyer-Olbersleben – Ballade, Op.9 *

Pablo de Sarasate Pablo Martín Melitón de Sarasate y Navascués (; 10 March 1844 – 20 September 1908), commonly known as Pablo de Sarasate, was a Spanish (Navarrese) violin virtuoso, composer and conductor of the Romantic period. His best known works include ...

– '' Spanish Dances'' for violin and piano, Book II * Bedřich Smetana – ''Ten Czech Dances'', for piano * Charles-Marie Widor –

Symphony for Organ No. 5 The Symphony for Organ No. 5 in F minor, Op. 42, No. 1, was composed by Charles-Marie Widor in 1879, with numerous revisions published by the composer in later years. The full symphony lasts for about 35 minutes. Structure The piece consists o ...

Opera

Giovanni Bottesini Giovanni Bottesini (22 December 1821 – 7 July 1889) was an Italian Romantic composer, conductor, and a double bass virtuoso. Biography Born in Crema, Lombardy, he was taught the rudiments of music by his father, an accomplished clarinetist ...

– ''Ero e Leandro'' *

Emmanuel Chabrier Alexis-Emmanuel Chabrier (; 18 January 184113 September 1894) was a French Romantic music, Romantic composer and pianist. His Bourgeoisie, bourgeois family did not approve of a musical career for him, and he studied law in Paris and then worked ...

– '' Une éducation manquée'', premiered May 1 in Paris * Miguel Marqués – ''Camoens'' * Viktor Nessler – ''

Der Rattenfänger von Hameln ''Der Rattenfänger von Hameln'' (''The Rat-Catcher of Hamelin'' or ''The Piper of Hamelin'') is a grand opera (''Große Oper'') in five acts by Viktor Nessler. The German libretto by is based on a 1875 romantic poem by Julius Wolff about the Pi ...

'' *

Camille Saint-Saëns Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns (; 9 October 183516 December 1921) was a French composer, organist, conductor and pianist of the Romantic music, Romantic era. His best-known works include Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso (1863), the Piano C ...

– '' Étienne Marcel'' *

Peter Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most pop ...

– ''Eugene Onegin (opera), Eugene Onegin''

Musical theater

* ''The Mulligan Guards' Ball'' Broadway production opens at the Comique Theatre on January 13 and runs for 153 performances * ''The Mulligan Guards' Chowder'' Broadway production opens at the Comique Theatre on August 11 and runs for 112 performances * ''The Mulligan Guards' Christmas'' Broadway production opens at the Comique Theatre on November 17 and runs for 104 performances

Births

*January 3 – Lina Abarbanell, German-American soprano (d. 1963) *January 10 – Armanda Degli Abbati, Italian opera singer (d. 1946) *January 26 – Hugo Riesenfeld, film music composer (died 1939) *February 9 – Natanael Berg, Swedish composer (d. 1957) *February 26 – Frank Bridge, composer (d. 1941) *April 1 – Louise Gunning, Broadway and vaudeville singer (d. 1960) *May 22 **Jean Cras, French composer (d. 1932) **Eastwood Lane, composer (d. 1951) *June 13 – Maria Gay, opera singer (d. 1943) *June 21 – Henry Creamer, US songwriter (d. 1930) *July 5 **Philippe Gaubert, composer (d. 1941) **Wanda Landowska, harpsichordist (d. 1959) *July 9 – Ottorino Respighi, composer (d. 1936) *August 1 – Eva Tanguay, singer, vaudeville star (d. 1947) *August 18 – Gus Edwards (vaudeville), Gus Edwards, Prussian-born US songwriter and entertainer (d. 1945) *August 31 – Alma Mahler, born Alma Schindler, Viennese-born composer and wife of Gustav Mahler (d. 1964) *September 29 – :ru:Willem Willeke, Willem Willeke, Dutch cellist and music editor (died 1950) *September 30 – Henri Casadesus, violist and music publisher (d. 1947) *October 12 – Chris Smith (composer), Chris Smith, composer (d. 1949) *October 13 – :de:Leopold Weninger, Leopold Weninger, composer (died 1940) *October 18 – Grzegorz Fitelberg, Polish conductor, violinist and composer (d. 1953) *October 21 – Joseph Canteloube, composer (d. 1957) *November 2 – Ramón Montoya, Spanish flamenco guitarist (d. 1949) *December 1 – Beth Slater Whitson, US lyric writer (d. 1930) *December 4 – Hamilton Harty, composer (d. 1941) *December 7 – Rudolf Friml, pianist and composer of operettas and musicals (d. 1972) *December 19 – Otto Olsson, Swedish composer (d. 1964) *December 26 – Julius Weismann, German conductor and composer (d. 1950)

Deaths

*January 8 – Ferdo Livadić, composer (born 1799) *February 20 – John Orlando Parry, pianist, singer and comedian (born 1810) *April 9 – Ernst Friedrich Eduard Richter, music theorist *May 27 – E. S. Engelsberg, composer *June 3 – Frances Ridley Havergal, hymn-writer *July 6 – Henry Smart, organist and composer (born 1813) *August 4 – Adelaide Kemble, opera singer *September 12 – Peter Arnold Heise, composer *October 14 – Karl Anton Eckert, conductor and composer (born 1820) *November 30 – August Bournonville, Danish ballet-master and choreographer (born 1805) *December 24 – Anna Bochkoltz, German operatic soprano, voice teacher and composer (born 1815)

References

{{reflist 1879 in music, 19th century in music Music by year