1890 in music

Specific locations

• 1890 in Norwegian music

  Events

• January–June period – George W. Johnson becomes the first African American to record phonograph cylinders, in New York.
• June 21 – Richard Strauss conducts the premiere of his symphonic poem Death and Transfiguration at the Eisenach Festival.
• September 3 – Carl Nielsen makes the first entry in his diary.
• September 9 – Edward Elgar's concert overture Froissart is premiered at the Three Choirs Festival in Worcester.
• December 6 – 7 – First full performance of Hector Berlioz's opera Les Troyens takes place at Karlsruhe, 21 years after the composer's death.
• Charles-Marie Widor succeeds César Franck as organ professor at the Paris Conservatoire.
• The New York Phonograph Company opens the first recording studio.

Published popular music

• "The Commodore Song"
• "I was Dreaming" – August Juncker
• "Little Pig Went To Market" by J. Cheever Goodwin & Gustave Kerker
• "Maggie Murphy's Home" w. Edward Harrigan m. David Braham
• "Passing By" w. Robert Herrick m. Edward C. Purcell
• "Star of the East" w. George Cooper m. Amanda Kennedy
• "Throw Him Down McCloskey" w.m. John W. Kelly
• "You'll Miss Lots of Fun When You're Married" by John Philip Sousa & Edward M. Taber

  Recorded popular music

• "Anvil Chorus" – John York AtLee
• "Banjo Duet" – Bohee Minstrels
• "Down upon the Suwannee River" – Professor Baton's Brass and String Military Band
• "Everybody's Darling" – Duffy and Imgrund's Fifth Regiment Band
• "La Media Noche" – United States Marine Band
• "The Mocking Bird" – John York AtLee and Fred Gaisberg
• "Semper Fidelis" – United States Marine Band
• "The Song That Reached My Heart" – Duffy & Imgrund's Fifth Regiment Band
• "Third verse of Mary & John, The Lover's Quarrel" – Will White
• "The Thunderer" – United States Marine Band
• "The Washington Post" – United States Marine Band

  Classical music">European classical music">Classical music

• Ferruccio Busoni – Violin Sonata No. 1, Opus 29
• Ernest Chausson – Chansons de Shakespeare
• Antonín Dvořák –
• *Requiem
• *Symphony No. 8
• Edward Elgar – Froissart
• Alexander Glazunov – Symphony No. 3, Opus 33
• Armas Järnefelt – Ouverture Lyrique
• Carl Nielsen – String Quartet No. 2 in F minor
• Hans Pfitzner – Sonata in F-sharp minor for cello and piano
• Alexander Scriabin – Romance for Horn and Piano
• Jean Sibelius – Piano Quintet in G minor
• Johann Strauss II – Rathausball-Tänze
• Sergei Taneyev – String Quartet No. 1 Opus 4
• William Robert Knox – Gladys Gavotte

  [Opera]

• Cavalleria Rusticana by Pietro Mascagni
• Prince Igor begun by Alexander Borodin, completed by Alexander Glazunov and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
• Queen of Spades by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

  [Musical theater]

• The Gondoliers Broadway production
• Love And Law Broadway production
• Robin Hood Chicago production
• The Sentry London production
• Reilly And The 400 Broadway production

  Births

• February 25 – Myra Hess, pianist
• February 27 – Freddie Keppard, jazz cornetist
• March 12 – Evert Taube, writer, artist, composer and singer
• March 17 – Harold Morris, pianist and composer
• March 20
• *Beniamino Gigli, operatic tenor
• *Lauritz Melchior, operatic tenor
• March 28 – Paul Whiteman, bandleader
• April 17 – Gussie Mueller, jazz clarinetist
• May 21 – Harry Tierney, songwriter, composer of "Irene" and "Rio Rita"
• June 6 – Ted Lewis, bandleader
• June 26 – Jeanne Eagels, Broadway star
• August 12 – Lillian Evanti, operatic soprano
• August 15 – Jacques Ibert, composer
• August 28 – Ivor Gurney, poet and composer
• September 9 – Francis Bousquet, French composer of classical music
• September 15 – Frank Martin, composer
• September 26 – Papanasam Sivan, Carnatic music composer
• October 1 – Stanley Holloway, English actor and singer
• October 8 – Samuel Hoffenstein, screenwriter and composer
• October 13 – Gösta Nystroem, composer
• October 20 – Jelly Roll Morton, American pianist, bandleader and composer
• November 10 – Mischa Bakaleinikoff, musical director
• December 8 – Bohuslav Martinů, classical composer

  Deaths

• January 8 – Giorgio Ronconi, operatic baritone
• January 17 – Salomon Sulzer, cantor and composer
• January 20 – Franz Lachner, conductor and composer
• February 14 – Wilhelm Fitzenhagen, cellist and music teacher
• March 13 – Henry Wylde, conductor, composer, music teacher and critic
• April 16 – John Barnett, composer and music writer
• May 6 – Hubert Léonard, violinist
• May 28 – Viktor Nessler, composer
• June 3 – Oskar Kolberg, folklorist and composer
• June 30 – Samuel Parkman Tuckerman, composer
• July 22 – Caterina Canzi, opera singer
• October 7 – John Hill Hewitt, songwriter
• October 17 – Prosper Sainton, violinist
• October 28 – Alexander John Ellis, music theorist
• November 8 – César Franck, composer
• December 21 – Niels Gade, composer
• date unknown – Ostap Veresai, minstrel and kobzar