1881 in music
Encyclopedia
Events
- February 10 - OffenbachJacques OffenbachJacques Offenbach was a Prussian-born French composer, cellist and impresario. He is remembered for his nearly 100 operettas of the 1850s–1870s and his uncompleted opera The Tales of Hoffmann. He was a powerful influence on later composers of the operetta genre, particularly Johann Strauss, Jr....
's Tales of HoffmannLes contes d'HoffmannLes contes d'Hoffmann is an opéra by Jacques Offenbach. The French libretto was written by Jules Barbier, based on short stories by E. T. A...
debuts in ParisParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region... - November 9 - Johannes BrahmsJohannes BrahmsJohannes Brahms was a German composer and pianist, and one of the leading musicians of the Romantic period. Born in Hamburg, Brahms spent much of his professional life in Vienna, Austria, where he was a leader of the musical scene...
' Piano Concerto No. 2Piano Concerto No. 2 (Brahms)The Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat major, Op. 83 by Johannes Brahms is a composition for solo piano with orchestral accompaniment. It is separated by a gap of 22 years from the composer's first piano concerto. Brahms began work on the piece in 1878 and completed it in 1881 while in Pressbaum near...
is given its public premiere in BudapestBudapestBudapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter... - December 4 - Pyotr Ilyich TchaikovskyPyotr Ilyich TchaikovskyPyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Russian: Пётр Ильи́ч Чайко́вский ; often "Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky" in English. His names are also transliterated "Piotr" or "Petr"; "Ilitsch", "Il'ich" or "Illyich"; and "Tschaikowski", "Tschaikowsky", "Chajkovskij"...
's Violin ConcertoViolin Concerto (Tchaikovsky)The Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35, written by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1878, is one of the best known of all violin concertos. It is also considered to be among the most technically difficult works for violin.-Instrumentation:...
is premiered in ViennaViennaVienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
Published popular music
- "Loch Lomond"
- "Good Bye!" by Francesco Paolo TostiFrancesco Paolo TostiSir Paolo Tosti was an Italian, later British, composer and music teacher.-Life:Francesco Paolo Tosti received most of his music education in his native Ortona, Italy, as well as the conservatory in Naples. Tosti began his music education at the Royal College of San Pietro a Majella at the age of...
- "My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean"
- "Slowly and Sadly" (President GarfieldJames GarfieldJames Abram Garfield served as the 20th President of the United States, after completing nine consecutive terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. Garfield's accomplishments as President included a controversial resurgence of Presidential authority above Senatorial courtesy in executive...
Memorial Tribute)" by Arabella M. Root
Classical music
- Victor BendixVictor BendixVictor Emanuel Bendix was a Jewish Danish composer, conductor and pianist. His teachers included Niels Gade....
- Symphony No. 1 in C op. 16 'Mountain Climbing - Alexander BorodinAlexander BorodinAlexander Porfiryevich Borodin was a Russian Romantic composer and chemist of Georgian–Russian parentage. He was a member of the group of composers called The Five , who were dedicated to producing a specifically Russian kind of art music...
- String Quartet #2 in DString Quartet No. 2 (Borodin)The String Quartet No. 2, written in 1881, by Alexander Borodin is a work in four movements:#Allegro moderato in D major and 2/2 time, with 304 bars;#Scherzo... - Johannes BrahmsJohannes BrahmsJohannes Brahms was a German composer and pianist, and one of the leading musicians of the Romantic period. Born in Hamburg, Brahms spent much of his professional life in Vienna, Austria, where he was a leader of the musical scene...
- Tragic OvertureTragic OvertureThe Tragic Overture , Op. 81, is a concert overture for orchestra written by Johannes Brahms during the summer of 1880. It premiered on December 26, 1880 in Vienna...
op. 81 revised; NänieNänieNänie is a composition for SATB chorus and orchestra, op. 82 by Johannes Brahms, which sets to music the poem Nänie by Friedrich Schiller. Brahms composed the piece in 1881, in memory of his deceased friend Anselm Feuerbach...
op. 82 - Max BruchMax BruchMax Christian Friedrich Bruch , also known as Max Karl August Bruch, was a German Romantic composer and conductor who wrote over 200 works, including three violin concertos, the first of which has become a staple of the violin repertoire.-Life:Bruch was born in Cologne, Rhine Province, where he...
- Kol NidreKol Nidre (Bruch)Kol Nidrei, Op. 47 , is a composition for cello and orchestra written by Max Bruch.Bruch completed the composition in Liverpool, England, before it was first published in Berlin in 1881. It is styled as an Adagio on 2 Hebrew Melodies for Cello and Orchestra with Harp and consists of a series of...
for cello and orchestra finished - Emmanuel ChabrierEmmanuel ChabrierEmmanuel Chabrier was a French Romantic composer and pianist. Although known primarily for two of his orchestral works, España and Joyeuse marche, he left an important corpus of operas , songs, and piano music as well...
- Pièces pittoresquesPièces pittoresquesPicturesque pieces are a set of ten pieces for piano by Emmanuel Chabrier. Four of the set were later orchestrated by the composer to make his Suite Pastorale.-Background:...
for piano - Gabriel FauréGabriel FauréGabriel Urbain Fauré 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...
& André MessagerAndré MessagerAndré Charles Prosper Messager , was a French composer, organist, pianist, conductor and administrator. His stage compositions included ballets and 30 opéra comiques and operettas, among which Véronique, had lasting success, with Les p'tites Michu and Monsieur Beaucaire also enjoying international...
- Messe des pêcheurs de VillervilleMesse des pêcheurs de VillervilleThe Messe des pêcheurs de Villerville is a missa brevis written by Gabriel Fauré in collaboration with his former pupil André Messager... - César FranckCésar FranckCésar-Auguste-Jean-Guillaume-Hubert Franck was a composer, pianist, organist, and music teacher who worked in Paris during his adult life....
- Rébecca (oratorioOratorioAn oratorio is a large musical composition including an orchestra, a choir, and soloists. Like an opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias...
) - Franz LisztFranz LisztFranz Liszt ; ), was a 19th-century Hungarian composer, pianist, conductor, and teacher.Liszt became renowned in Europe during the nineteenth century for his virtuosic skill as a pianist. He was said by his contemporaries to have been the most technically advanced pianist of his age...
- Nuages GrisNuages GrisNuages gris , S.199 or Trübe Wolken, is a work for piano solo composed by Franz Liszt on August 24, 1881. It is one of Liszt's most haunting and at the same time one of his most experimental works, representing, according to Allen Forte, "a high point in the experimental idiom with respect to... - Giuseppe MartucciGiuseppe MartucciGiuseppe Martucci was an Italian composer, conductor, pianist and teacher. As a composer and teacher he was influential in reviving Italian interest in non-operatic music. As a conductor he helped to introduce Richard Wagner's operas to Italy and also gave important early concerts of English music...
- Fantasia for piano op. 51 - Camille Saint-SaënsCamille Saint-SaënsCharles-Camille Saint-Saëns was a French Late-Romantic composer, organist, conductor, and pianist. He is known especially for The Carnival of the Animals, Danse macabre, Samson and Delilah, Piano Concerto No. 2, Cello Concerto No. 1, Havanaise, Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, and his Symphony...
- Septet op. 65 for piano, trumpet and strings; Hymne à Victor Hugo - Charles-Marie WidorCharles-Marie WidorCharles-Marie Jean Albert Widor was a French organist, composer and teacher.-Life:Widor was born in Lyon, to a family of organ builders, and initially studied music there with his father, François-Charles Widor, titular organist of Saint-François-de-Sales from 1838 to 1889...
- First Sonata for Piano and Violin op. 50 (http://www.recordsinternational.com/RICatalogAug00.html)
Opera
- Pyotr Ilyich TchaikovskyPyotr Ilyich TchaikovskyPyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Russian: Пётр Ильи́ч Чайко́вский ; often "Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky" in English. His names are also transliterated "Piotr" or "Petr"; "Ilitsch", "Il'ich" or "Illyich"; and "Tschaikowski", "Tschaikowsky", "Chajkovskij"...
- Joan Of Arc - Leoš JanáčekLeoš JanácekLeoš Janáček was a Czech composer, musical theorist, folklorist, publicist and teacher. He was inspired by Moravian and all Slavic folk music to create an original, modern musical style. Until 1895 he devoted himself mainly to folkloristic research and his early musical output was influenced by...
- ŠárkaŠárka (Janácek)Šárka is an opera in three acts by Leoš Janáček to a Czech libretto by Julius Zeyer, based on Bohemian legends of Šárka in Dalimil’s Chronicle...
Musical theater
- Les contes d'HoffmannLes contes d'HoffmannLes contes d'Hoffmann is an opéra by Jacques Offenbach. The French libretto was written by Jules Barbier, based on short stories by E. T. A...
(Jacques OffenbachJacques OffenbachJacques Offenbach was a Prussian-born French composer, cellist and impresario. He is remembered for his nearly 100 operettas of the 1850s–1870s and his uncompleted opera The Tales of Hoffmann. He was a powerful influence on later composers of the operetta genre, particularly Johann Strauss, Jr....
) - Paris production - The Mascot (La MascotteLa mascotteLa mascotte is an opéra comique by Edmond Audran. The French libretto was by Alfred Duru and Henri Charles Chivot. The story concerns a farm girl who is believed to bring good luck to whoever possesses her, so long as she remains a virgin...
) Broadway production opened at the Bijou TheatreBijou TheatreTwo Broadway theatres have been named the Bijou Theatre.The first was converted into a theatre in 1878 and rebuilt in 1883. It was often called the Bijou Opera House and was located at 1239 Broadway. It was also sometimes called The Brighton Theatre. It became a popular venue for operettas in...
on May 5 - Patience (GilbertW. S. GilbertSir William Schwenck Gilbert was an English dramatist, librettist, poet and illustrator best known for his fourteen comic operas produced in collaboration with the composer Sir Arthur Sullivan, of which the most famous include H.M.S...
and SullivanArthur SullivanSir Arthur Seymour Sullivan MVO was an English composer of Irish and Italian ancestry. He is best known for his series of 14 operatic collaborations with the dramatist W. S. Gilbert, including such enduring works as H.M.S. Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance and The Mikado...
) - London production opened at the Opera-Comique Theatre on April 23 and transferred to the Savoy TheatreSavoy TheatreThe Savoy Theatre is a West End theatre located in the Strand in the City of Westminster, London, England. The theatre opened on 10 October 1881 and was built by Richard D'Oyly Carte on the site of the old Savoy Palace as a showcase for the popular series of comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan,...
on October 10 for a total run of 578 performances
Births
- January 4 (or 5) - Nikolai RoslavetsNikolai RoslavetsNikolai Andreevich Roslavets was a significant Soviet modernist composer. Roslavets was a convinced modernist and cosmopolitan thinker; his music was officially suppressed from 1930 onwards....
, UkrainianUkraineUkraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
composer (d. 1944) - February 6 - Karl WeiglKarl WeiglKarl Ignaz Weigl was an Austrian composer. He was born in Vienna, being the son of a bank official who was also a keen amateur musician. Alexander Zemlinsky took him as a private pupil in 1896. Weigl went to school at the Franz-Joseph-Gymnasium and graduated from there in 1899...
, AustriaAustriaAustria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n composer (d. 1949) - March 16 - Ernie HareErnie HareThomas Ernest Hare was a bass/baritone who recorded prolifically during the 1920s and 1930s, finding fame as a radio star on The Happiness Boys radio program.-Career:...
, US singer - March 18 - Paul Le FlemPaul Le FlemPaul Le Flem was a French composer and music critic. Born in Brittany and living most of his life in Lezardrieux, Le Flem studied at the Schola Cantorum under Vincent d'Indy and Albert Roussel, later teaching at the same establishment, where his pupils included Erik Satie and André Jolivet...
, FrenchFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
composer (d. 1984) - March 23 - Egon PetriEgon PetriEgon Petri was a classical pianist.-Biography:Petri's family was Dutch and he was born a Dutch citizen, but he was born in Hanover in Germany and was brought up in Dresden. His father was a professional violinist who taught his son that instrument. Petri played in the Dresden Court Orchestra and...
, pianist (d. 1962) - March 25 - Béla BartókBéla BartókBéla Viktor János Bartók was a Hungarian composer and pianist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century and is regarded, along with Liszt, as Hungary's greatest composer...
, composer (d. 1945) - April 15 - David John ThomasDavid Thomas (composer)David John Thomas , often known by his bardic name of "Afan", was a Welsh composer, conductor, and organist.Thomas is remembered mainly for his hymn tunes and songs such as "Drosom ni" and "Cymru fach i mi"...
, WelshWalesWales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
composer (d. 1928) - April 20 - Nikolai MyaskovskyNikolai MyaskovskyNikolai Yakovlevich Myaskovsky was a Russian and Soviet composer. He is sometimes referred to as the "father of the Soviet symphony".-Early years and first important works:...
, Russian composer and teacher of PolishPolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
birth (d. 1950) - May 11 - Jan van GilseJan van GilseJan Pieter Hendrik van Gilse was a Dutch composer and conductor. Among his works are five symphonies and the Dutch-language opera Thijl.-Life:...
, DutchNetherlandsThe Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
composer (d. 1944) - August 15 - Ted SnyderTed SnyderTheodore Frank Snyder , was a U.S. composer, lyricist, and music publisher . His hits include "The Sheik of Araby" and "Who's Sorry Now?" . In 1970, he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame...
, US composer and music publisher (d. 1965) - August 19 - George EnescuGeorge EnescuGeorge Enescu was a Romanian composer, violinist, pianist, conductor and teacher.-Biography:Enescu was born in the village of Liveni , Dorohoi County at the time, today Botoşani County. He showed musical talent from early in his childhood. A child prodigy, Enescu created his first musical...
, RomaniaRomaniaRomania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
n composer (d. 1955) - August 29 - Edvin KallsteniusEdvin KallsteniusEdvin Kallstenius was a Swedish composer and librarian.He arranged the traditional folk tune used as the de facto national anthem of Sweden, Du gamla, Du fria.-Life and career:...
, SwedishSwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
composer (d. 1967) - November 22 - Ethel Levey, US singer, dancer & actress (d. 1955)
- November 28 - Stefan ZweigStefan ZweigStefan Zweig was an Austrian novelist, playwright, journalist and biographer. At the height of his literary career, in the 1920s and 1930s, he was one of the most famous writers in the world.- Biography :...
, librettist of Richard StraussRichard StraussRichard Georg Strauss was a leading German composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras. He is known for his operas, which include Der Rosenkavalier and Salome; his Lieder, especially his Four Last Songs; and his tone poems and orchestral works, such as Death and Transfiguration, Till...
's Die schweigsame Frau (The Silent Woman) - December 3 - Henry FillmoreHenry FillmoreHenry Fillmore was an American musician, composer, publisher, and bandleader, best-known for his many marches and screamers.-Biography:James Henry Fillmore Jr. was born in Cincinnati, Ohio as the eldest of five children...
- December 24 - Charles Wakefield CadmanCharles Wakefield CadmanCharles Wakefield Cadman was an American composer.Cadman’s musical education, unlike that of most of his American contemporaries, was completely American. Born in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, he began piano lessons at 13...
, composer and songwriter
Deaths
- January 30 - Jacques-Nicolas LemmensJacques-Nicolas LemmensJacques-Nicolas Lemmens , was an organist and composer for his instrument.Born at Zoerle-Parwijs, near Westerlo, Belgium, Lemmens took lessons from François-Joseph Fétis, who wanted to make him into a musician capable of renewing the organ-player's art in Belgium...
, BelgianBelgiumBelgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, organist and composer (b. 1823) - March 23 - Nikolai Grigoryevich RubinsteinNikolai Grigoryevich RubinsteinNikolai Grigoryevich Rubinstein was a Russian pianist, conductor and composer. He was the younger brother of Anton Rubinstein and a close friend of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.-Life:...
, pianist and composer (b. 1835) - March 28 - Modest MussorgskyModest MussorgskyModest Petrovich Mussorgsky was a Russian composer, one of the group known as 'The Five'. He was an innovator of Russian music in the romantic period...
, composer - June 5 - Franjo KrežmaFranjo KrežmaFranjo Krežma , also known as Franz Krezma in German-speaking countries, was a Croatian violinist and composer....
, violinist and composer - June 6 - Henri VieuxtempsHenri VieuxtempsHenri François Joseph Vieuxtemps was a Belgian composer and violinist. He occupies an important place in the history of the violin as a prominent exponent of the Franco-Belgian violin school during the mid-19th century....
, composer (b. 1820) - July 3 - Achille De BassiniAchille De BassiniAchille De Bassini was an Italian baritone, particularly noted for his performances in Verdi's operas...
, operatic baritone (b. 1819) - September 7 - Sidney LanierSidney LanierSidney Lanier was an American musician and poet.-Biography:Sidney Lanier was born February 3, 1842, in Macon, Georgia, to parents Robert Sampson Lanier and Mary Jane Anderson; he was mostly of English ancestry. His distant French Huguenot ancestors immigrated to England in the 16th century...
, poet and flautist (b. 1842) - October 9 - Richard WüerstRichard WüerstRichard Wüerst was a German composer, music professor and pedagogue.Wüerst was a pupil of Carl Friedrich Rungenhagen's at the Royal Academy and a pupil of Felix Mendelssohn's in Berlin...
, composer and music teacher (b. 1824) - November 25 - Theobald BoehmTheobald BoehmTheobald Böhm was a German inventor and musician, who perfected the modern Western concert flute and its improved fingering system...
, inventor of the modern flute - December 17 - Giulio BriccialdiGiulio BriccialdiGiulio Briccialdi was an Italian flautist and composer.Briccialdi was born in Terni. His contributions include inventing the B-flat thumb key for the Boehm flute. He died in Florence.- External links :...
, composer (b. 1818) - date unknown
- Sophie DaguinSophie DaguinSophie Marguerite Daguin was a French ballet dancer and choreographer who spent her career in Sweden, where she became a star and the ballet mistress of the Royal Swedish Ballet and principal of the ballet school.- Biography :...
, ballerina and choreographer (b. 1801) - Francisco de Sá NoronhaFrancisco de Sá NoronhaFrancisco de Sá Noronha was a Portuguese composer and violinist who wrote a “Fantasy for violin and orchestra”, and many other works.- References :Classical Composers...
, violinist and composer (b. 1820) - Marie Gabriel Augustin SavardMarie Gabriel Augustin SavardMarie Gabriel Augustin Savard was the father of Marie Emmanuel Augustin Savard. He was a teacher at the Paris Conservatory in tonic solfa, harmony and figured bass. Among his pupils were Jules Massenet, Cécile Chaminade, Eduard Reuss, and Edward MacDowell. Massenet describes him fondly in his...
, music teacher and composer (b. 1814)
- Sophie Daguin