Events
January 7 – Franz Liszt's Piano Concerto No. 2 receives its first public performance. Hans von Bronsart is the pianist with Liszt conducting, in Weimar. January 21 – Giacomo Meyerbeer conducts a work by Mikhail Glinka, at a concert in Berlin attended by the composer. Glinka catches a cold and dies a few weeks later, aged 52; autopsy results are inconclusive. January 27 – Franz Liszt's Sonata in B minor (Liszt) is given its first public performance by Hans von Bülow in Berlin. February 7 – Louis Gottschalk leaves New York to begin a concert tour of Cuba. March 14 – Stephen Foster sells all his copyrights to his music publisher for $1,872.28. April 28 – Richard Wagner moves into Green Hill at Zürich, a villa owned by Otto Wesendonck. July 4 – Georges Bizet wins the Prix de Rome. August 27 – Joseph Joachim writes to Franz Liszt, ending their professional relationship. October 8 – Irish opera diva Catherine Hayes marries her manager, William Avery Bushnell, in San Francisco; he dies less than a year later. November 12 – 73-year-old Louis Spohr is forced into retirement from his post at the Hesse-Kassel court. Gioacchino Rossini begins Péchés de vieillesse. Hans von Bülow marries Cosima Liszt daughter of Franz Liszt. They had two daughters.
Published popular music
"Le beau Monde (Fashionable Society)" m. Johann Strauss II
"Does He Love Me?" w. Annie Chambers Bradford m. F. W. Smith
"Jingle Bells w.m. James Pierpont originally published as "One Horse Open Sleigh" "Lorena" w. Reverend Henry D. L. Webster m. Joseph Philbrick Webster "Annie Lisle" w.m. H. S. Thompson
Classical music
Charles-Valentin Alkan
Sonate de Concert in E, Op. 47 for cello and piano
Douze études dans tous les tons mineurs Op. 39 for piano
Woldemar Bargiel – Ouvertüre zu einem Trauerspiel, Op.18
Georges Bizet – Herminie (cantata) Adolphe Blanc String Quintet No.3, Op.21 String Quintet No.4, Op.22 Trio in B♭ major for piano, violin (or clarinet) and cello, Op.23 Johannes Brahms Serenade No 1, Op. 11 Eleven Variations on an Original Theme, in D major Opus 21 No.1 Hans von Bülow – 5 Lieder, Op.5 Louise Farrenc – Trio no.4 for Flute, Cello, and Piano, Op.45 Wilhelm Kalliwoda – Scherzo, Op.4 Franz Liszt Dante Symphony Hunnenschlacht (premiered on 29 December) Die Ideale (premiered on 5 September) Giacomo Meyerbeer – Près de toi Modest Mussorgsky – Souvenir d'Enfance Joachim Raff Ode to Spring: Concert Piece in G major, Op. 76, for piano and orchestra String Quartet No. 2 in A major; Op. 90 Napoléon Henri Reber – Symphony No.4, Op.33 Julius Reubke – The 94th Psalm Camille Saint-Saëns - Tarantelle in A minor for Flute, Clarinet and Orchestra Bedřich Smetana – Piano Trio in G minor, Op. 15 (revised version – original finished 1855) Johann Strauss Jr. Strelna-Terrassen-Quadrille, Op.185 La Berceuse Quadrille, Op.194
Opera
François Bazin – Maître Pathelin
Karel Miry – Karel V (opera in 5 acts, libretto by Hippoliet van Peene, premiered on January 29 in Ghent) Jacques Offenbach – Croquefer, premiered February 12 in Paris Ambroise Thomas – Le Carnaval de Venise Giuseppe Verdi Simon Boccanegra, premiered March 12 in Venice Aroldo, premiered August 16 in Rimini
