1856 in music
Encyclopedia
Events
- January - Evan JamesEvan JamesEvan James , a weaver and poet from Pontypridd, Wales, wrote the lyrics of Hen Wlad fy Nhadau , the national anthem of Wales....
and his son James JamesJames JamesJames James was a harpist and musician from Pontypridd, Wales. He composed the tune of the Welsh national anthem Hen Wlad fy Nhadau ....
write the words and music of Hen Wlad Fy NhadauHen Wlad Fy NhadauHen Wlad Fy Nhadau is the national anthem of Wales. The title – taken from the first words of the song – means "Old Land of My Fathers", usually rendered in English as simply "Land of My Fathers". The words were written by Evan James and the tune composed by his son, James James, both residents...
, which later becomes the Welsh national anthem. - March 23 - Richard WagnerRichard WagnerWilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...
completes the score of Die WalküreDie WalküreDie Walküre , WWV 86B, is the second of the four operas that form the cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen , by Richard Wagner... - May 15 - Following his discovery of the philosophy of Arthur SchopenhauerArthur SchopenhauerArthur Schopenhauer was a German philosopher known for his pessimism and philosophical clarity. At age 25, he published his doctoral dissertation, On the Fourfold Root of the Principle of Sufficient Reason, which examined the four separate manifestations of reason in the phenomenal...
and his growing interest in BuddhistBuddhismBuddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
philosophy, Wagner drafts a brief summary of a proposed Buddhist opera, called Die Sieger (The Victors). At about the same time he changes the ending of the Ring cycle, and changes the titles of Der junge Siegfried and Siegfried’s Tod to Siegfried and Götterdämmerung respectively. - Foundation of the Teatro de la zarzuelaZarzuelaZarzuela is a Spanish lyric-dramatic genre that alternates between spoken and sung scenes, the latter incorporating operatic and popular song, as well as dance...
by Francisco Asenjo BarbieriFrancisco Asenjo BarbieriFrancisco Asenjo Barbieri was a well-known composer of the popular Spanish opera form, zarzuela. His works include: El barberillo de Lavapiés, Jugar con fuego, Pan y toros, Don Quijote, Los diamantes de la corona, and El Diablo en el poder.He was born and died in Madrid, appropriately, since the...
. - In St Petersburg, Russia, Mily BalakirevMily BalakirevMily Alexeyevich Balakirev ,Russia was still using old style dates in the 19th century, and information sources used in the article sometimes report dates as old style rather than new style. Dates in the article are taken verbatim from the source and therefore are in the same style as the source...
(the leader) meets César CuiCésar CuiCésar Antonovich Cui was a Russian of French and Lithuanian descent. His profession was as an army officer and a teacher of fortifications; his avocational life has particular significance in the history of music, in that he was a composer and music critic; in this sideline he is known as a...
, as the first 2 RussiaRussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n composers of The Mighty Five. - The words of the "Himno Nacional de El Salvador" are written by General Juan José CañasJuan José CañasJuan José Cañas is perhaps most famous for the writing of Himno Nacional De El Salvador with Italian-born composer Juan Aberle....
; it becomes the National Anthem of El SalvadorNational Anthem of El Salvador"Himno Nacional de El Salvador" is the national anthem of El Salvador. Written by General Juan José Cañas with music composed by the Italian Juan Aberle in 1856, the anthem was adopted as the national song on September 15, 1879, and officially recognized by the government on December 11, 1953...
in 1953.
Published popular music
- Stephen FosterStephen FosterStephen Collins Foster , known as the "father of American music", was the pre-eminent songwriter in the United States of the 19th century...
- "Gentle AnnieGentle Annie (song)"Gentle Annie" is a popular American song composed by Stephen Foster in 1856. The song has original lyrics but is said to be based on a traditional Irish melody. According to his niece, Evelyn Foster Morneweck, there is a tradition that it was written in honor of Annie Jenkins, the daughter of a...
" - Benjamin HanbyBenjamin HanbyBenjamin Russell Hanby , also given as Benjamin Russel Hanby, was an American composer who wrote approximately 80 songs, the most famous of which are "Darling Nelly Gray", the Christmas song "Up on the House Top", and the hymn "Who Is He In Yonder Stall?".Hanby was born near Rushville, Ohio...
- "Darling Nelly Gray"
Classical music
- William B. Bradbury - Esther, the Beautiful Queen (oratorio)
- Antonín DvořákAntonín DvorákAntonín Leopold Dvořák was a Czech composer of late Romantic music, who employed the idioms of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia. Dvořák’s own style is sometimes called "romantic-classicist synthesis". His works include symphonic, choral and chamber music, concerti, operas and many...
- Polka Pomnenka
Opera
- Alexander DargomyzhskyAlexander DargomyzhskyAlexander Sergeyevich Dargomyzhsky was a 19th century Russian composer. He bridged the gap in Russian opera composition between Mikhail Glinka and the later generation of The Five and Tchaikovsky....
- RusalkaRusalka (Dargomyzhsky)Rusalka is an opera in four acts, six tableaux, by Alexander Dargomyzhsky, composed during 1848-1855. The Russian libretto was adapted by the composer from Pushkin's incomplete dramatic poem of the same name... - Aimé MaillartAimé MaillartLouis-Aimé Maillart was a French composer, best known for his operas, particularly Les Dragons de Villars and Lara.-Biography:Maillart was born in Montpellier...
- Les Dragons de Villars - Giovanni PaciniGiovanni PaciniGiovanni Pacini was an Italian composer, best known for his operas. Pacini was born in Catania, Sicily, the son of the buffo Luigi Pacini, who was to appear in the premieres of many of Giovanni's operas...
- Margherita Pusterla
Musical theater
- Hiawatha. Broadway production opened at Wallack's Lyceum Theatre on December 25 and ran for 24 performances.
- Novelty (Music: Thomas BakerThomas Baker (musician)Thomas Baker was a nineteenth century composer and musical producer.A violinist, Baker came to the United States from England with the orchestra of Louis Antoine Jullien in 1853...
). Broadway production opened at Laura Keene's Variety House on February 22.
Births
- January 6 - 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...
, composer (d. 1909) - January 9 - Stevan Stojanović MokranjacStevan Stojanovic MokranjacStevan Stojanović Mokranjac was a Serbian composer and music educator. His work was essential in bringing the spirit of Valach Serbian unwritten folk poems into organized art.-Biography:He was born in Negotin...
, composer (d. 1914) - January 11 - Christian SindingChristian SindingChristian August Sinding was a Norwegian composer.-Personal life:He was born in Kongsberg as a son of mine superindendent Matthias Wilhelm Sinding and Cecilie Marie Mejdell . He was a brother of the painter Otto Sinding and the sculptor Stephan Sinding...
, composer (d. 1941) - March 20 - Josef WagnerJosef Wagner (composer)Josef Franz Wagner was an Austrian military bandmaster and composer. He is sometimes known by the sobriquet 'The Austrian March King'....
, military bandmaster and composer (d.1908) - May 3 - Max AlvaryMax AlvaryMax Alvary , originally Maximilian Achenbach, was a German operatic tenor.Born in Düsseldorf, Germany, he was the son of the painter Andreas Achenbach, over whose initial objections he pursued his singing career...
, Wagnerian tenor (d. 1898) - May 26 - George Templeton StrongGeorge Strong (composer)George Templeton Strong was an American composer of classical music. His work has been described as Romantic. He moved to Vevey, Switzerland in 1897 and lived there and in Geneva for the remainder of his life...
, composer and artist (d. 1948) - December 2 - Robert KajanusRobert KajanusRobert Kajanus was a Finnish conductor and composer of Swedish descent.-Life:Robert Kajanus was the most prominent Finnish composer before Jean Sibelius. His music drew on the folk legends of the Finnish people...
, conductor and composer (d. 1933) - December 20 - Ferdinand AvenariusFerdinand AvenariusFerdinand Avenarius was a lyric poet, a leading representative of the culture reform movement of his time and the first popularizer of Sylt.-Life:...
, poet and lyricist, relative of Richard WagnerRichard WagnerWilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas... - September 3 - Selma EkSelma EkSelma Ek was a Swedish operatic soprano who had an active international career from the 1870s through the 1890s. Like Lilli Lehmann and Lillian Nordica, she was one of those universally talented singers of the late 19th Century who was able to master roles from the coloratura, lyric, and dramatic...
, soprano (d. 1941)
Deaths
- January 17 - Thomas Attwood WalmisleyThomas Attwood WalmisleyThomas Attwood Walmisley was an English composer and organist.-Early life:He was born in London, the son of Thomas Forbes Gerrard Walmisley , a well-known organist and composer of church music and glees...
, composer and organist, 42 - May 3 - Adolphe AdamAdolphe AdamAdolphe Charles Adam was a French composer and music critic. A prolific composer of operas and ballets, he is best known today for his ballets Giselle and Le corsaire , his operas Le postillon de Lonjumeau , Le toréador and Si j'étais roi , and his Christmas...
, French composer, 52 - July 20 - Anna NielsenAnna Nielsen (1803-1856)Anna Helena Dorothea Nielsen, née Brenöe, , was a Danish stage actress and opera singer . She was one of the most famous female stage artists in Denmark of her time....
, mezzo-soprano, 52 - July 29 - Robert SchumannRobert SchumannRobert Schumann, sometimes known as Robert Alexander Schumann, was a German composer, aesthete and influential music critic. He is regarded as one of the greatest and most representative composers of the Romantic era....
, composer, 46 - August 5 - Robert Lucas de PearsallRobert Lucas de PearsallRobert Lucas Pearsall was an English composer.-Biography:Pearsall was born at Clifton in Bristol on 14 March 1795 into a rich, Quaker family. His father, Richard Pearsall , was an army officer and amateur musician...
, composer, 61 - August 8 - Lucia Elizabeth VestrisLucia Elizabeth VestrisLucia Elizabeth Vestris was an English actress and a contralto opera singer, appearing in Mozart and Rossini works. While popular in her time, she was more notable as a theatre producer and manager...
, actress and singer, 59 - August 21 - Peter Josef von LindpaintnerPeter Josef von LindpaintnerPeter Josef von Lindpaintner was a German composer and conductor.Born in Koblenz as the son of a tenor, he studied with Peter Winter and Joseph Graetz. From 1819 onwards he was based in Stuttgart...
, conductor and composer, 64 - October 14 - Johann Kaspar MertzJohann Kaspar MertzJohann Kaspar Mertz was a Hungarian guitarist and composer.NOTE: THE ORIGINAL CREATOR OF THIS PAGE PLAGIARIZED THEIR MATERIAL. It has been copied and pasted from the Mel Bay website: http://www.melbay.com/authors.asp?author=749 I tried to report this problem to wikipedia, but they do not make it...
, guitarist and composer, 50 - November 23 - Giovanni MorandiGiovanni Morandi (composer)Giovanni Morandi was a romantic Italian organist and composer.-organ music:*Sonate per gli organi moderni *Sonate per gli organi moderni *Sonate per gli organi moderni...
, composer, 79 - December 31 - Domenico CrivelliDomenico CrivelliDomenico Francesco Maria Crivelli , often referred to simply as Signor Crivelli was an Italian born English opera singer and singing teacher....
, music teacher - date unknown - Ashutosh DebAshutosh DebAshutosh Deb was a musician and Hindu priest in Calcutta. He was the producer of an early Bengali dictionary. He was also a sitar player and composed many popular tappa and other songs.-References:...
, Hindu musician and composer