<!-- "none" is preferred when the title is sufficiently descriptive; see WP:SDNONE -->
Events
- January – Evan James and his son James James write the words and music of Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau, which later becomes the Welsh national anthem.
- January 6 – Charles Gounod is awarded the Légion d'Honneur.
- January 27 – In recognition of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's 100th birthday, Franz Liszt conducts a concert of his music in Vienna.
- Ignaz Lachner – Piano Trio No.2, Op.45
- Ernst Pauer – Quintet for Piano and Winds, Op.44
- Camille Saint-Saëns – Symphony in F major "Urbs Roma"
- Robert Schumann – 2 Endenicher Choräle
- William Vincent Wallace – "The Winds that Waft My Sighs to Thee"
Opera
- Alexander Dargomyzhsky – Rusalka
- Aimé Maillart – Les Dragons de Villars
- Giovanni Pacini – Margherita Pusterla
Musical theater
- Hiawatha. Broadway production opened at Wallack's Lyceum Theatre on December 25 and ran for 24 performances.
- Novelty (Music: Thomas Baker). Broadway production opened at Laura Keene's Variety House on February 22.
Births
- January 6 – Giuseppe Martucci, composer (d. 1909)
- January 9 – Stevan Mokranjac, composer (d. 1914)
- January 11
- <!--January 11-->Christian Sinding, composer (d. 1941)
- <!--January 11-->Francisco D'Andrade, opera singer (d. 1921)
- March 20 – Josef Wagner, military bandmaster and composer (d.1908)
- April 14 – Antonie Mielke, soprano (d. 1907)
- May 3 – Max Alvary, Wagnerian tenor (d. 1898)
- May 20 – Helen Hopekirk, composer (died 1945)
- May 26 – George Templeton Strong, composer and artist (d. 1948)
- May 31 – F. W. Meacham, composer (died 1909)
- circa July 29 – Felix Mottl, conductor (died 1911)
- September 3 – Selma Ek, soprano (d. 1941)
- October 22 – Eduard Schütt, composer (died 1933)
- November 25 – Sergey Taneyev, composer (died 1915)
- December 2 – Robert Kajanus, conductor and composer (d. 1933)
- December 20 – Ferdinand Avenarius, poet and lyricist, relative of Richard Wagner (d. 1923)
Deaths
- January 6 – Nicolas-Charles Bochsa, harpist (born 1789)
- January 17 – Thomas Attwood Walmisley, composer and organist (d. 1814)
- January 28 – Helmina von Chézy, librettist (born 1783)
- May 3 – Adolphe Adam, French composer (d. 1803)
- June 3 – Stephen Jenks, song writer (born 1772)
- July 20 – Anna Nielsen, mezzo-soprano (d. 1803)
- July 29 – Robert Schumann, composer (d. 1810)
- August 5 – Robert Lucas de Pearsall, composer (d. 1795)
- August 8 – Lucia Elizabeth Vestris, actress and singer (d. 1797)
- August 21 – Peter Josef von Lindpaintner, conductor and composer (d. 1791)
- October 14 – Johann Kaspar Mertz, guitarist and composer (d. 1806)
- November 23 – Giovanni Morandi, composer (d. 1777)
- December 31 – Domenico Crivelli, music teacher
- date unknown – Ashutosh Deb, Hindu musician and composer