1808 in music

List of years in music       (table)
... 1798 .  1799 .  1800 .  1801  . 1802  . 1803  . 1804 ... 1805 1806 1807 -1808- 1809 1810 1811 ... 1812 .  1813 .  1814 .  1815  . 1816  . 1817  . 1818 ...
Art . Archaeology . Architecture . Literature . Music . Science +...

Events

• December 22 – Ludwig van Beethoven puts on a marathon benefit concert in Vienna, including the first performances of the Fifth and Sixth Symphonies and the Choral Fantasy.
• Harvard University forms its own orchestra.
• Ignaz Schuppanzigh founds the Razumovsky quartet.
• Ignaz Assmayer becomes organist of St. Peter's Abbey in Salzburg.

Popular Music

• "(Believe Me, if All) Those Endearing Young Charms" by Thomas Moore and Sir John Stevenson

Classical Music

• Ludwig van Beethoven – Symphony No. 5, Symphony No. 6, "Ghost" Piano Trio
• Bernhard Henrik Crusell – Clarinet Concerto no. 2
• Carl Maria von Weber – Momento capriccioso

Births

• February 14 – Michael Costa, Italian-born conductor and composer (d. 1884)
• March 24 – Maria Malibran, soprano (d. 1836)
• April 10 – Auguste Franchomme, French cellist and composer (d. 1884)
• May 15 – Michael William Balfe, Irish composer (d. 1870)
• October 24 – Ernst Richter, German musical theorist (d. 1879)
• December 26 – Albert Grisar, Belgian composer (d. 1869)

Deaths

• February 29 - Carlos Baguer, Spanish composer, 39
• May 22 - Edmund Ayrton, English organist, 73
• July 20 – François-Hippolyte Barthélémon, French violinist, 66
• September 29 - Paul Wranitzky, Moravian composer, 51
• date unknown
  • Robert Broderip, organist and composer
  • Gaetano Vestris, dancer (born 1729)