1884 in music

Specific locations

• 1884 in Norwegian music

Events

• September 27 – The Hungarian Royal Opera House in Budapest opens.
• December 30 – Anton Bruckner's Symphony No. 7 is premiered in Leipzig, bringing the composer his first great success.

Bands formed

• Cory Band

Published popular music

• "Oh My Darling, Clementine"     w.m. Percy Montrose
• "The Coon's Salvation Army" by Sam Lucas
• "The Fountain in the Park" aka "While Strolling Through the Park One Day" w.m. Ed Haley
• "The Golden Wedding"     m. Gabriel-Marie
• "Love's Old Sweet Song"     w. George Clifton Bingham m. James Lynam Molloy
• "March of the Plumed Knight" by Charles B. Morrell & William Howard Doane
• "My Thoughts Are of Thee" by Sam Lucas
• "Otchi Tchorniya" by Y. P. Grebyonka & F. Hermann
• "Rest, Comrades, Rest (Memorial Hymn)" by O. B. Ormsby
• "Rock-a-bye Baby"     w.m. Effie I. Canning
• "When the Heather Blooms Again" by Frances Jane Crosby & William Howard Doane

Classical music

• Anton Bruckner – Te Deum (begun 1881)
• Henri Duparc – La Vie Antérieure
• Antonín Dvořák – Ballade in D minor
• César Franck – Prelude, Chorale, and Fugue
• Robert Fuchs – Symphony No. 1 in C<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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• Alexander Glazunov – String Quartet No. 2 Opus 10 in F major
• Charles Gounod – Mors et Vita (oratorio)
• Richard Strauss – Symphony No. 2
• Peter Tchaikovsky - Orchestral Suite No. 3
• Hugo Wolf – String Quartet in D minor (begun 1878)

Opera

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• Eduard Caudella – Hatmanul Baltag
• Luigi Mancinelli – Isora di Provenza
• Miguel Marqués – El reloj de Lucerna
• Jules Massenet – Manon
• Karl Millöcker – Gasparone
• Viktor Nessler – Der Trompeter von Säkkingen
• Giacomo Puccini – Le Villi
• Charles Villiers Stanford – The Canterbury Pilgrims
• Arthur Sullivan – Princess Ida (London Savoy Theatre January 5 for 246 performances)
• Arthur Sullivan – Princess Ida (Broadway Fifth Avenue Theatre February 11 for 48 performances)
• Peter Tchaikovsky - Mazeppa
• Felix Weingartner – Sakuntala

Musical theater

• Adonis Broadway production opened at the Bijou Theatre on September 4 and ran for 603 performances
• The Beggar Student London production opened at the Alhambra Theatre on April 12 and ran for 112 performances
• The Grand Mogul London production

Births

• January 13 – Sophie Tucker, singer
• February 22 – York Bowen, pianist and composer (died 1961)
• March 14 – Wintter Watts, composer of art songs (died 1962)
• March 17 – Alcide Nunez, clarinetist
• March 18 – Joe Burke, pianist, composer and actor (died 1950)
• March 26 – Wilhelm Backhaus, German pianist (died 1969)
• April 22 – Armas Launis, Finnish composer and ethnomusicologist (died 1959)
• April 23 – Jurgis Karnavičius, Lithuanian composer (died 1941)
• May 19 – Arthur Meulemans, composer (died 1966)
• May 27 – Max Brod, author, composer and journalist (died 1968)
• August 7 – Billie Burke, American actress and singer (d. 1970)
• August 13 – Edwin Grasse, composer and violinist (died 1954)
• September 6 – Emerson Whithorne (birth name Emerson Whittern), composer and historian (died 1958)
• September 17 – Charles Tomlinson Griffes, composer (died 1920)
• September 24 – Jonny Heykens, composer and orchestra leader (died 1945)
• October 6 – Oliphant Chuckerbutty, organist and composer (died 1960)
• November 1 – David Roitman, hazzan and composer (died 1943)
• November 6
  • May Brahe, composer and songwriter (died 1956)
  • Ludomir Rozycki, composer (d. 1953)
• November 19 – Norman Allin, English singer (d. 1973)
• November 23 – Guy Bolton, English librettist
• November 30 – Ture Rangström, composer (died 1947)
• December 29 – Foster Adolph Reynolds, brass instrument maker (died 1960 at work)
• date unknown – Alfred Reynolds, English composer (d. 1969)

Deaths

• January 21 – Auguste Franchomme, cellist (dedicatee of works by Chopin)
• January 25 – Johann Gottfried Piefke, conductor and composer
• February 14 – Franz Wohlfahrt, violin teacher
• February 21 – John Pyke Hullah, composer and music teacher (b. 1812)
• March 14 – Franz Wohlfahrt, German violin teacher and composer (b. 1833)
• April 24 – Marie Taglioni, ballerina
• April 29 – Michael Costa, conductor and composer
• May 12 – Bedřich Smetana, composer (b. 1824)
• June 25 – Hans Rott, composer (b. 1858)
• June 8 – Henry Clay Work, US composer
• July 5 – Victor Massé, composer
• August 18 – Template:Ill, composer (b. 1808)
• November 27 – Fanny Elssler, dancer
• December 4 – Alice Mary Smith, composer (b. 1839)
• date unknown – Velvel Zbarjer, Brody singer