1856 in music

Overview of the events of 1856 in music

List of years in music

(table)

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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.^[1]
January 27 – In recognition of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's 100th birthday, Franz Liszt conducts a concert of his music in Vienna.^[1]
March 23 – Richard Wagner completes the score of Die Walküre.
March 24 – The Théâtre de la Monnaie opens in Brussels.^[1]
May 15 – Following his discovery of the philosophy of Arthur Schopenhauer and his growing interest in Buddhist 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.
May 28 – Mikhail Glinka relocates to Berlin.^[1]
July 4 – 14-year-old Arthur Sullivan wins the Mendelssohn Scholarship, enabling him to study at the Royal Academy of Music.^[1]
July 28 – Clara Schumann and Johannes Brahms begin their vigil outside the bedroom of the dying Robert Schumann.^[1]
December 1 – Bedřich Smetana opens his new music school in Göteborg.^[1]
Foundation of the Teatro de la zarzuela by Francisco Asenjo Barbieri.
In St Petersburg, Russia, Mily Balakirev (the leader) meets César Cui, as the first two Russian composers of The Mighty Five. In October, Mussorgsky meets Alexander Borodin while both men serve at a military hospital in Saint Petersburg.
The words of the "Himno Nacional de El Salvador" are written by General Juan José Cañas; it becomes the National Anthem of El Salvador in 1953.

Published popular music

Stephen Foster – "Gentle Annie"
Benjamin Hanby – "Darling Nelly Gray"

Classical music

Franz Abt – 3 Lieder, Op.137
Mily Balakirev
- Piano Concerto No. 1 in F-sharp minor, Op. 1 (in one movement)
- Fandango-Etude
- Scherzo No.1
Alexandre-Pierre-François Boëly – 12 Pièces pour orgue, Op.18
William B. Bradbury – Esther, the Beautiful Queen (oratorio)
Johannes Brahms – Prelude and Fugue, WoO 9
Anton Bruckner
- Ave Maria, WAB 5
- Psalm 146, WAB 37
- Klavierstück, WAB 119
Antonín Dvořák – Polka Pomnenka
Louis Gottschalk – Grande Valse poétique concertante for voice and piano
Charles Gounod – Laudate Dominum [CG 105]
Miska Hauser [de; it; nl; sv] – Ballad (Dedicated to Lady MacDonnell of South Australia)^[2]
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
- Christian Sinding, composer (d. 1941)
- Francisco D'Andrade, opera singer (d. 1921)
March 20 – Josef Wagner, military bandmaster and composer (d.1908)
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)