1889 in music

List of years in music       (table)
... 1879 .  1880 .  1881 .  1882  . 1883  . 1884  . 1885 ... 1886 1887 1888 -1889- 1890 1891 1892 ... 1893 .  1894 .  1895 .  1896  . 1897  . 1898  . 1899 ...
Art . Archaeology . Architecture . Literature . Music . Science +...

Events

• November 20 - Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 1 is premiered in Budapest
• Emile Berliner markets first commercial gramophone records
• Joseph Kekuku is credited with inventing the Hawaiian steel guitar

sheet music cover

Published popular music

• "Ask A Policeman" w. E. W. Rogers m. A. E. Duran Deau
• "Down Went McGinty" w.m. Joseph Flynn
• "Four Little Curly Headed Coons" by James W. Wheeler
• "Little Annie Rooney (Is My Sweetheart)" w.m. Michael Nolan
• "Oh, Promise Me" w. Clement Scott m. Reginald de Koven
• "Playmates" w.m. Harry Dacre
• "Slide Kelly Slide" w.m. John W. Kelly
• "Take A Pair Of Sparkling Eyes" w. W. S. Gilbert m. Arthur Sullivan
• "The Thunderer" m. John Philip Sousa
• "The Washington Post (march)" m. John Philip Sousa

Classical music

• Edward Elgar - "Queen Mary's Song"
• Enrique Granados - Danzas españolas
• Augusta Holmès - Ode triomphale

Opera

• Francesco Cilea - Gina
• Robert Fuchs - Die Königsbraut
• Miguel Marqués - El plato del día (libretto by Andrés Ruesga, Manuel Lastra and Enrique Prieto, premiered in Madrid)

Musical theater

• The Gondoliers (Music: Sir Arthur Sullivan Book & Lyrics: W. S. Gilbert) London production opened at the Savoy Theatre on December 7 and ran for 554 performances
• Love's Trickery London production

Births

• February 7 - Claudia Muzio, operatic soprano (d. 1936)
• March 2 - Harald Agersnap, Danish classical musician (d. 1982)
• March 15 - Billy Jones, singer (d. 1940)
• March 16 - Elsie Janis, musical comedy star and songwriter (d. 1956)
• April 3 - Grigoraş Dinicu, Romanian composer and violinist (d. 1948)
• April 8 - Sir Adrian Boult, conductor (d. 1983)
• April 11 - Nick LaRocca - jazz bandleader (d. 1961)
• April 30 - Rudolph Simonsen - composer (d. 1947)
• May 15 - Graziella Pareto, operatic soprano (d. 1973)
• May 20 - Felix Arndt, pianist & composer (d. 1918)
• May 25 - Gilardo Gilardi, pianist, conductor and composer (d. 1962)
• July 4 - Joe Young, US lyricist and singer (d. 1939)
• July 10 - Noble Sissle, bandleader and singer (d. 1975)
• August 10 - Cecil Armstrong Gibbs, composer (d. 1960)
• September 10 - Vilém Petrželka, conductor and composer (d. 1967)
• September 26 - Frank Crumit, singer (d. 1943)
• October 3 - Manuel Manetta, jazz musician & teacher (d. 1969)
• October 28 - Juliette Béliveau, actress and singer (d. 1975)
• December 11 - Ben Black, composer and impresario (d. 1950)
• December 25 - Nathaniel Shilkret, composer and musician (d. 1982)
• December 28 - Vaslav Nijinsky, Ballet dancer (d. 1950)
• date unknown
  • Nellie Briercliffe, singer and actress (d. 1966)
  • Michael Coleman, fiddler (d. 1945)

Deaths

• January 23 - Selina Dolaro, actress and singer (b. 1849) (stroke)
• January 31 - Joseph Gungl, composer and conductor (b. 1810)
• March 3 - Sydney Smith, English composer and pianist (b. 1839)
• March 13 - Felice Varesi, operatic baritone (b. 1813)
• April 6 - Frederick Ouseley, organist, composer and musicologist (b. 1825)
• April 9 - Jean-Baptiste Arban, cornet virtuoso (b. 1825)
• April 30 - Carl Rosa, opera impresario (b. 1842)
• May 30 - Silverio Franconetti, flamenco singer (b. 1831)
• July 7 - Giovanni Bottesini, double bass player and composer (b. 1821)
• October 3 - Karel Miry, Belgian composer (b. 1823)
• October 10 - Adolf von Henselt, pianist and composer (b. 1814)
• November 24 - Frederic Clay, composer (b. 1838) (stroke)
• November 25 - Alojzy Gonzaga Jazon Żółkowski, actor and singer (b. 1814)
• December 13 - Catherine Chislova, ballerina (b. 1846)
• December 31 - Giuseppe Apolloni, composer (b. 1822)
• date unknown
  • Jovo Ivanišević, composer
  • Gustaw Lewita, pianist (b. 1855)