January 8, 1821 King Ferdinando Reaches Laibach (Ljubljana) From ...
January 1, 1821 Portuguese troops in Belém, Brazil rebel and set up a liberal government.
January 8, 1821 King Ferdinando reaches Laibach (Ljubljana) from Naples where he will meet with
other rulers of Europe.
Kenilworth by Walter Scott is published by Constable & Co.
January 15, 1821 The publication of Fantaisie with Variations on Au Clair de la lune op.48 by Muzio
Clementi (68) is entered at Stationer’s Hall, London.
January 17, 1821 The government of New Spain gives permission to settle in Texas to 300 US citizens,
provided that they are Catholic and descended from Europeans.
January 23, 1821 The Nautilus sails from Hampton Roads, Virginia for Africa with 33 blacks intent on
creating a colony for freed slaves in West Africa. The ship is owned by the American Colonization
Society.
January 24, 1821 The Cortes decides to create a liberal constitution for Portugal.
January 25, 1821 Erlkönig, a song by Franz Schubert (23) to words of Goethe, is performed for the first
time in a public hall, the Musikverein, Vienna.
January 26, 1821 The Congress of Laibach (Ljubljana) opens. Present are Tsar Alyeksandr of Russia,
Emperor Franz of Austria as well as special representatives of the Kings of France and Prussia. Great
Britain is represented only by its ambassador to Vienna who will act as an observer. Also present are
King Ferdinando of Naples and the Duke of Modena. Other Italian sovereigns have sent
representatives. The subject is the peace of Europe, in particular, unrest in Italy.
This date marks the first recorded instance of a Schubertiad. 14 friends gather in the Vienna rooms of
Franz von Schober. The drinking and merry-making go on until 3:00 a.m.
January 27, 1821 Antonio Salieri (70) signs a second recommendation for Franz Schubert (23).
Lalla Rukh, a festspiel by Gaspare Spontini (46) to words of Spiker after Moore, is performed for the
first time, in the Royal Palace, Berlin.
February 1, 1821 The publication of two Capriccios for piano op.47 by Muzio Clementi (69) is entered
at Stationer’s Hall, London.
Sagt, woher stammt Liebeslust, a lied for soprano, alto, female chorus and guitar by Carl Maria von
Weber (34), is performed for the first time, as part of Der Kaufmann von Venedig, a play by Schlegel
after Shakespeare, in the Dresden Hoftheater.
February 3, 1821 Die Soldatenliebschaft, a singspiel by Felix Mendelssohn to words of Casper, is
performed for the first time with orchestra, in a specially constructed theater in the Mendelssohn
home, Berlin. It is the composer’s twelfth birthday. See December 11, 1820.
Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin (10) dates the manuscript to his earliest known composition, a Polonaise
in A flat.
Two days after Friedrich Kalkbrenner (35) is denied status of a subscriber, Muzio Clementi (69)
resigns from the London Philharmonic Society. He calls their action a “flagrant insult.”
February 7, 1821 Men from the American sealer Cecilia go ashore at Hughes Bay in Graham Land.
Though ashore only for an hour, they are the first men in recorded history to set foot on the continent
of Antarctica.
February 8, 1821 Franz Schubert’s (24) song Sehnsucht D.636 to words of Schiller is performed for the
first time, in the Musikverein, Vienna.
February 10, 1821 Child of the Mountain, or The Deserted Mother, an opera by Anton Philipp Heinrich
(39) to words of McMurtrie, is performed for the first time, in the Walnut Street Theater, Philadelphia.
February 14, 1821 Carl Loewe (24) becomes musical director for the City of Stettin (Szczecin). He will
work in Stettin for the next 45 years.
February 16, 1821 Publication of the Piano Concerto op.85 by Johann Nepomuk Hummel (42) is
announced in the Wiener Zeitung.
February 23, 1821 In a small room above the Spanish Steps in Rome, John Keats dies of tuberculosis at
the age of 25. His tombstone will read: Here lies One Whose Name was writ in Water.
February 24, 1821 Matilde Shabran ossia Bellezza, e cuor di ferro, a melodramma giocoso by Gioachino
Rossini (28) to words of Ferretti after Hoffmann and Boutet de Monvel, is performed for the first time,
in Teatro Apollo, Rome, conducted by Nicolò Paganini (38). The work encounters a mixed reception.
February 27, 1821 Landgrave Wilhelm I of Hesse-Kassel dies and is succeeded by his son Wilhelm II.
March 2, 1821 Joaquín Anduaga Cuenca replaces Juan Javat as First Secretary of State of Spain.
March 4, 1821 Eusebio Bardají y Azara replaces Joaquín Anduaga Cuenca as First Secretary of State of
Spain.
March 6, 1821 A small force under Alexander Ypsilanti, a Greek officer in the Russian army, crosses
the Moldavian frontier with the intention of liberating Greece from Turkish control.
March 7, 1821 Austrian troops defeat the constitutional army of the Two Sicilies at Rieti, 65 km
northeast of Rome. This effectively ends the liberal revolution in the country.
Two works by Franz Schubert (24), Das Dörfchen D.641, a vocal quartet to words of Bürger, and Gesang
der Geister über den Wassern D.714 for male octet to words of Goethe, are performed for the first time,
in the Kärntnertortheater, Vienna. This also marks the first public performance of Erlkönig.
March 8, 1821 Gruppe aus dem Tartarus D.583, a song by Franz Schubert (24) to words of Schiller is
performed for the first time, in the Musikverein, Vienna.
March 9, 1821 The Portuguese Cortes adopts 36 articles declaring the principles on which a
constitution will be based.
March 10, 1821 A liberal revolution begins in Piedmont led by army officer Santorre di Santarosa.
They desire a constitution and to place Carlo Alberto Carignan on the throne.
March 11, 1821 Sardinian liberals issue a manifesto calling for a unified Italy.
March 13, 1821 King Vittorio Emanuele of Piedmont abdicates in favor of his brother, Carlo Felice.
March 14, 1821 Incidental music to Wolff’s play Preciosa by Carl Maria von Weber (34) is performed
for the first time, in the Königliche Hofbühne, Berlin to great success with the public.
March 16, 1821 Carlo Felice of Sardinia forces Carlo Alberto to renounce the throne.
March 20, 1821 The Inquisition is abolished in Portugal. The Banco de Lisboa is established.
March 22, 1821 Hector Berlioz (17) receives a Bachelier ès lettres (baccalaureate degree) at Grenoble.
March 23, 1821 Austrian troops enter Naples to restore King Ferdinando to absolutism sparking
widespread uprisings throughout the country.
March 25, 1821 Sporadic, unconnected uprisings occur in Greece against Turkish rule.
March 31, 1821 Erlkönig D.328, a song by Franz Schubert (24) to words of Goethe, is published by
Cappi and Diabelli to great success.
April 3, 1821 Maranhão adheres to the liberal government of Belém, Brazil.
April 8, 1821 Austrian forces defeat the Piedmontoise followers of Carlo Alberto at Novara, 45 km
west of Milan.
April 19, 1821 The British Parliament passes a bill to build a steam rail line from Darlington to
Stockton-on-Tees. It is an attempt to develop a remote coal area.
April 21, 1821 Benderli Ali Pasha replaces Seyyid Ali Pasha as Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire.
April 22, 1821 In response to unrest in his Romanian lands and a massacre of Turks by Greeks in the
Morea, the Ottoman sultan orders that the Ecumenical Patriarch Gregorios be hanged in front of his
palace in Constantinople, today, Easter Sunday. The Archbishops of Adrianople, Thessaloniki and
Tirnovo are also hanged. This precedes widespread massacres of Christians by Turks in Thessaly,
Macedonia and Anatolia.
Franz Schubert’s (24) male vocal quartet Die Nachtigall D.724 to words of Unger is performed for the
first time, in the Kärntnertortheater, Vienna.
King João of Portugal appoints Dom Pedro as his regent in Brazil.
April 23, 1821 A Polonaise in Ab by Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin (11) is performed for the first time,
by the composer and his teacher, Wojciech Zywny.
Francisco de Paula Escudero replaces Eusebio Bardají y Azara as First Secretary of State of Spain.
April 26, 1821 King João and the Portuguese court depart Brazil for Portugal.
April 30, 1821 Gretchen am Spinnrade D.118, a song by Franz Schubert (24) to words of Goethe, is
published by Cappi and Diabelli to great success.
Haci Salih Pasha replaces Benderli Ali Pasha as Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire.
May 1, 1821 Blanche de Provence, ou La cour de fées, an opera by Luigi Cherubini (60), Adrien Boeildieu
(45) and three others to words of Théaulon de Lambert and de Rancé, is performed for the first time,
at the Tuileries, Paris.
May 2, 1821 Carl Maria von Weber (34) and his wife, Caroline Brandt, arrive in Berlin from Dresden
for the premiere of Der Freischütz.
Les Arts rivaux, a scène lyrique by Adrien Boieldieu (45) and Berton to words of Chazet, is performed
for the first time, at the Hôtel de Ville, Paris.
May 5, 1821 The Journal des débats announces that Luigi Cherubini (60) and Adrien Boieldieu (45),
among others, are named Chevaliers in the Order of St. Michael.
Napoléon Bonaparte dies in exile on St. Helena, officially of stomach cancer, but possibly murdered
by slow arsenic poison.
May 7, 1821 Due to rising debts the Africa Company is dissolved and Sierra Leone, Gambia and the
Gold Coast are absorbed by the British Crown. The Gold Coast is made a crown colony.
May 9, 1821 The earthly remains of Napoleon Bonaparte are laid to rest on St. Helena, 8,039 km south
of Paris.
May 12, 1821 The Congress of Laibach (Ljubljana) closes after deciding on measures against
revolutions in Italy and Greece. The final protocol is agreed to by Russia, Austria and Prussia but not
Great Britain and France. Their denunciation of the Greek rebellion leads the Turks to repressive
measures.
May 14, 1821 Olympia, an opera by Gaspare Spontini (46) to words of Dieulafoy and Briffaut,
translated by Hoffmann, is performed for the first time, in the Berlin Opera. The audience includes
Carl Maria von Weber (34), in town for the premiere of Der Freischütz. This is the German version of
Olympie. See December 22, 1818.
May 15, 1821 King Ferdinando returns to Naples to resume absolutism.
May 24, 1821 Piauí adheres to the liberal government of Belém, Brazil.
May 29, 1821 Cappi and Diabelli, Vienna publish for songs by Franz Schubert (24) to words of Goethe
as his op.3: Schäfers Klagelied, Heideröslein, and the second settings of Meeresstille and Jägers Abendlied.
They also publish three other of Schubert’s songs as his op.4: Der Wanderer to words of Schmidt von
Lübeck, Morgenlied to words of Werner and the first setting of Wandrers Nachtlied to words of Goethe.
June 3, 1821 Gigar Iyasu replaces Iyoas II Hezqeyas as Emperor of Ethiopia.
June 7, 1821 A group of Greek landowners meets and declares itself the government of the
Peloponnesus.
June 12, 1821 Egypt annexes Sudan.
June 18, 1821 7 p.m. Carl Maria von Weber’s (34) romantic opera Der Freischütz to words of Kind
after Apel and Laun is performed for the first time, at the opening of the rebuilt Berlin Schauspielhaus
to great success. In the audience is an interested 12-year-old named Felix Mendelssohn. Within the
next two years, Der Freischütz will be staged in all the important theaters of Germany.
June 19, 1821 Turkish troops defeat Greek rebels at Dragashan.
June 20, 1821 A duet and aria for Ferdinand Hérold’s (30) Das Zauberglöckchen (La clochette) by Franz
Schubert (24) to words of Théaulon de Lambert translated by Treitsche, is performed for the first time,
in the Kärntnertortheater, Vienna.
June 24, 1821 South American forces under Simón Bolívar defeat Spanish and Loyalist troops at
Carabobo on Lake Maracaibo, insuring the independence of Venezuela.
June 25, 1821 Konzertstück J.282 for piano and orchestra by Carl Maria von Weber (34) is performed
for the first time, in Berlin. During this program, Weber accompanies the renowned French violinist
Alexandre Boucher in his Variations on a Norwegian Air, but after beginning, Boucher motions Weber
to stop playing and he takes off into a lengthy and bizarre solo flight. Unable to get back to the
original piece, he drops his violin, embraces Weber and shouts “Ah grand maître! que j'aime, que
j'admire!”
June 30, 1821 Liberals in Portugal publish a proposed constitution before the arrival of King João
from Brazil.
An Emma D.113, a song by Franz Schubert (24) to words of Schiller, is published in the Zeitschrift für
Kunst, Vienna.
July 3, 1821 Dom João VI of Portugal returns to his native country from exile in Brazil.
July 4, 1821 Silvestre Pinheiro Ferreira becomes Secretary of State (prime minister) of Portugal.
News of Napoléon’s death is published in London.
July 7, 1821 Emma, ou La promesse imprudente, an opéra comique by Daniel François Esprit Auber (39)
to words of Planard, is performed for the first time, in the Théâtre Feydeau, Paris.
July 9, 1821 Five songs by Franz Schubert (24) to words of Goethe are published by Cappi and
Diabelli, Vienna as his op.5: Raslose Liebe, N∆ahe des Geliebten, Der Fischer, Erster Verlust and Der König
in Thule.
July 11, 1821 Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka (17) receives a Bible for success in his examinations. It is
inscribed, “From the St. Petersburg University Boarding School to Mikhail Glinka, for good conduct
and achievment in scripture, Russian language and literature, statistics, mathematics, and Latin.”
July 13, 1821 Andrew Law is “taken speechless at the dinner table…[and] taken to his bed” and dies
in Cheshire, Connecticut, aged 72 years, three months and 22 days. (Crawford, 246)
July 18, 1821 Banda Oriental (Uruguay) is annexed by Brazil.
July 21, 1821 Carl Maria von Weber’s (34) deteriorating health prompts him to make a last will and
testament in Dresden.
George IV is crowned King of Great Britain and Ireland in Westminster Abbey. His estranged wife,
Queen Caroline, attempts to gain admission but is refused. She leaves, amidst some name-calling
from the onlookers. Tonight she attends a pageant of the coronation at Drury Lane Theater. After
returning home, the Queen becomes very ill with some kind of digestive ailment.
July 26, 1821 Russia severs relations with the Ottoman Empire due to the latter’s refusal to guarantee
the safety of its Christian subjects.
July 28, 1821 After royalist roops evacuate Lima, the citizenry proclaim the independence of Peru and
give José Francisco de San Martín y Matorras the title of “Protector.”
August 8, 1821 Queen Caroline, estranged wife of King George IV of Great Britain, dies at her home,
Cambridge House, in London.
August 10, 1821 Missouri becomes the 24th state of the United States.
August 16, 1821 The Paris Opéra moves into new quarters in the Rue Le Peletièr. The old theater in
the Rue de Richelieu was demolished after the Duc de Berry was killed there on February 13, 1820.
August 21, 1821 German physicist Thomas Johann Seebeck gives the first of four talks before the
Academy of Sciences in Berlin where he describes his recent experiments. He has discovered that two
unlike metals joined at two different points with each point at different temperatures will produce an
electrical circuit. This phenomenon, later called the Seebeck Effect, is the beginning of
thermoelectricity.
August 23, 1821 Three songs by Franz Schubert (24) arepublished by Cappi and Diabelli, Vienna as
his op.6: Memnon and Antigone und Oedip to words of Mayrhofer, and Am Grabe Anselmos to words of
Claudius.
August 30, 1821 Franz Schubert’s (24) female chorus Der 23. Psalm D.706, translated by Moses
Mendelssohn, is performed for the first time, in the Gundelhof, Vienna.
September 1, 1821 This month’s issue of the London Magazine includes the first installment of Thomas
de Quincey’s Confessions of an English Opium-Eater.
José de San Martín lands at Pisco, 200 km south of Lima, and declares against Spain.
September 3, 1821 Chiapas declares its independence from Spain.
September 7, 1821 Carl Loewe (24) marries Julie von Jacob in Halle.
Filipe Ferreira de Araújo e Castro replaces Silvestre Pinheiro Ferreira as Secretary of State (prime
minister) of Portugal.
September 15, 1821 Representatives of landowners and clergy meet in Guatemala City and proclaim
the independence of the Kingdom of Guatemala (Chiapas, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala,
Honduras, Nicaragua).
September 16, 1821 Tsar Alyeksandr of Russia claims the west coast of North America from the
Bering Sea to latitude 51° north. He further bans foreign ships to come within 185 km of the coast.
September 18, 1821 A setting of Psalm 19 for two solo voices, chorus and piano by Felix Mendelssohn
(12) is performed for the first time, in Berlin.
September 25, 1821 Tsar Alyeksandr of Russia declares a monopoly on all hunting, fishing and
trading in Russian America and adjacent waters.
September 27, 1821 Augustín de Iturbide enters Mexico City in triumph after his Mexican forces
defeat Spanish troops.
September 28, 1821 Augustín de Iturbide takes on the title of President of the Regency of the Empire.
September 29, 1821 The Boston Handel and Haydn Society Collection of Church Music, compiled by
Lowell Mason (29), is announced in the leading American music journal, The Euterpeiad.
October 4, 1821 A setting of the Mass by Vincenzo Bellini (19) is performed for the first time, in the
church of San Francesco d’Assisi, Catania.
October 5, 1821 The publication of twelve Monferrinas for piano op.49 by Muzio Clementi (69) is
entered at Stationer’s Hall, London.
Greek rebels capture Tripolitza in the Morea and massacre Turks living there.
October 10, 1821 A contract is signed between Lowell Mason (29) and George K. Jackson of the
Boston Handel and Haydn Society. Mason’s tunebook will be issued under the name of the society.
October 15, 1821 The publication of three Piano Sonatas op.50 by Muzio Clementi (69) is entered at
Stationer’s Hall, London.
October 17, 1821 The British West African Territories are established as a union of Gambia, Sierra
Leone and the Gold Coast.
October 25, 1821 The Kyrie and Gloria from the Missa Solemnis by Ludwig van Beethoven (50) are
performed for the first time, in the Landständischer Saal, Vienna. See April 7, 1824.
October 26, 1821 Hector Berlioz (17) receives a passport for domestic travel at the Grenoble Town
Hall. Before the month is out, he will use it to travel to Paris to study the art of medicine.
November 2, 1821 Carl Friedrich Zelter arrives in Weimar from Berlin along with his daughter and a
promising young student named Felix Mendelssohn (12). He wants them both to make the
acquaintance of Goethe.
November 4, 1821 In Weimar, Felix Mendelssohn (12) meets Johann Wolfgang von Goethe for the
first time. In spite of the vast difference in their ages, the two begin a strong friendship over the next
two weeks. Felix has brought several songs by his sister Fanny (15) on Goethe texts. The poet is
delighted and will compose a poem for Fanny in gratitude. Also present is the Weimar Kapellmeister
Johann Nepomuk Hummel (42).
November 11, 1821 At a musical gathering at Goethe’s house in Weimar, visiting musicians play
through Felix Mendelssohn’s (12) Piano Quartet in D, led by his teacher Carl Friedrich Zelter. Goethe,
who heard the seven-year-old Mozart, states that Mendelssohn’s accomplishment at such a young age
“borders on the miraculous.” Comparisons to Mozart begin to fly.
November 16, 1821 Hector Berlioz (17) enrolls at the Faculté de Médecine of the Adadémie de Paris of
the Université Royale de France.
November 18, 1821 Franz Schubert’s (24) song Der Wanderer D.493 to words of Schmidt von Lübeck is
performed for the first time, in the Gasthof ‘zum römischen Kaiser’, Vienna.
November 27, 1821 Three songs of Franz Schubert (24) are published by Cappi and Diabelli, Vienna
as his op.7: Die abgeblühte Linde and Der Flug der Zeit to words of Széchényi, and Der Tod und das
Mädchen to words of Claudius.
November 28, 1821 Panama is declared independent of Spain.
December 1, 1821 The Republic of San Domingo is established independent of Spain and nominally
part of Gran Colombia.
December 6, 1821 The South Orkney Islands are claimed for Great Britain.
Incidental music to von Kleist’s play Prinz Friedrich von Homburg by Heinrich August Marschner (26)
is performed for the first time, in Dresden.
December 8, 1821 Der Blumen Schmerz D.731, a song by Franz Schubert (24) to words of Mayláth, is
published in the Zeitschrift für Kunst, Vienna.
December 15, 1821 US Navy officers force the local king to sell Cape Mesurado (near present
Monrovia, Liberia) to the American Colonization Society. The society will found a colony for freed
slaves on the site.
December 27, 1821 At a benefit for Gioachino Rossini (29) in the Teatro San Carlo, Naples, attended
by the king, royal family, ministers and many members of the nobility, the composer’s cantata La
riconoscenza to words of Genoino is performed for the first time.
January 1, 1822 The National Assembly of Greece adopts a constitution in Piada near the ancient city
of Epidaurus. Alexandros Mavrokordatos becomes nominal president of Greece. Corinth is named
the provisional capital.
January 2, 1822 Der Kiffhäuserberg, a romantische Oper by Heinrich August Marschner (26) to words
of Kotzebue, is performed for the first time, in Zittau.
January 4, 1822 The Brothers Grimm date the forward to the third volume of their Kinder und
Hausmärchen.
January 5, 1822 Mexico proclaims annexation of Central America.
January 8, 1822 Ramón López Pelegrín replaces Francisco de Paula Escudero as First Secretary of State
of Spain.
January 14, 1822 Louis Spohr (37) arrives in Kassel to take up his position as Hofkapellmeister.
January 19, 1822 The first detailed review of a song by Franz Schubert (24) appears in the Vienna
Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung.
January 24, 1822 José Gabriel de Silva y Bazán, marqués de Santa Cruz replaces Ramón López
Pelegrín as First Secretary of State of Spain
January 28, 1822 Zoraida di Granata, a melodramma eroico by Gaetano Donizetti (24) to words of
Merelli, is performed for the first time, in the Teatro Argentina, Rome, to some success.
January 30, 1822 Ramón López Pelegrín replaces José Gabriel de Silva y Bazán, marqués de Santa
Cruz as First Secretary of State of Spain.
February 5, 1822 The brutal and rebellious Albanian ruler Ali Pasha of Janina (Ioánnina, Greece) is
murdered by agents of Ottoman Sultan Mahmud II. His head is sent to the Sultan in Constantinople
February 9, 1822 Panama is incorporated into New Granada as the Department of the Isthmus.
Santo Domingo is incorporated into Haiti.
February 10, 1822 Carl Maria von Weber (35) leaves Dresden for Vienna, worried enough about his
health to leave a farewell note for his wife in a sealed envelope in case he does not return.
February 11, 1822 Am Geburtstag des Kaisers for solo voices, chorus and orchestra by Franz Schubert
(25) to words of Deinhardstein, is performed for the first time, in the Theresianum, Vienna.
February 16, 1822 Zelmira, a dramma by Gioachino Rossini (29) to words of Tottola after Dormont de
Belloy, is performed for the first time, in Teatro San Carlo, Naples. It is well received.
February 28, 1822 Francisco Martínez de la Rosa replaces Ramón López Pelegrín as First Secretary of
State of Spain.
March 2, 1822 Maria Szymanowska (32) departs Warsaw for her first extensive concert tour as
pianist, in Russia.
March 3, 1822 Franz Schubert’s (25) song Geist der liebe D.747 to words of Matthesson is performed for
the first time, in the Redoutensaal, Vienna.
March 6, 1822 King Ferdinando attends the last performance of the run of Zelmira by Gioachino
Rossini (30). It is Rossini’s farewell to Naples and he is given resounding expressions of appreciation
from the king and audience.
The first movement of the Piano Concerto no.7 by John Field (39) is performed for the first time. See
December 25, 1832.
March 7, 1822 Gioachino Rossini (30) departs Naples making for Vienna. He is accompanied by
Isabella Colbran and three male singers.
March 8, 1822 US President James Monroe sends a message to Congress proposing recognition of the
new Latin American republics.
March 12, 1822 L’esule di Granata, a melodramma semiserio by Giacomo Meyerbeer (30) to words of
Romani, is performed for the first time, in Teatro alla Scala, Milan. The response is mixed.
March 16, 1822 In the sanctuary of the Blessed Virgin of the Pillar, in her villa at Castenaso, near
Bologna, the coloratura Isabella Colbran marries the opera composer Gioachino Rossini (30). The
couple are travelling from Naples to Vienna.
March 17, 1822 The French government institutes further press restrictions. The sale of newspapers is
forbidden unless they are approved by the state.
March 22, 1822 Gioachino Rossini (30), his new wife Isabella Colbran and three other musicians reach
Vienna from Naples.
March 27, 1822 Gioachino Rossini (30) witnesses a performance of Der Freischütz at the
Kärntnertortheater, Vienna conducted by the composer. It does not seem likely, however, that he and
Weber (35) meet at this time.
April 4, 1822 Maria Szymanowska (32) gives her second concert in St. Petersburg, at Philharmonic
Hall.
April 8, 1822 An anti-Catholic riot takes place in Philadelphia.
April 13, 1822 A performance of Zelmira begins a Rossini (30) festival at the Kärntnertortheater,
Vienna. The festival will include six different Rossini operas and last from April to July.
In The Euterpeiad or Musical Intelligencer, John Rowe Parker first calls Anthony Philipp Heinrich (41)
the “Beethoven of America.” It is a name the composer will adopt.
April 17, 1822 Frühlingsgesang D.740, a vocal quartet by Franz Schubert (25) to words of Schober, is
performed for the first time, in the Kärntnertortheater, Vienna.
April 22, 1822 Turkish troops capture the Island of Chios, kill many of the Christian inhabitants and
sell the rest into slavery.
April 24, 1822 Maria Szymanowska (32) performs at the court of Tsar Alyeksandr I in St. Petersburg.
May 2, 1822 Maria Szymanowska (32) performs before the Russian royal family at the Noblemen’s
Club in Moscow.
May 4, 1822 The United States Congress appropriates funds for establishing relations with several
Latin American nations.
May 7, 1822 The Church of St. Pancras is consecrated in London. The Greek Revival structure is a
design by William and Henry Inwood.
Die Rose D.745, a song by Franz Schubert (25) to words of von Schlegel, is published in the Zeitschrift
für Kunst, Vienna.
May 8, 1822 Publication of the Quintet for Piano and Strings op.87 by Johann Nepomuk Hummel (43)
is announced in the Wiener Zeitung.
The Liszt family departs Raiding to move to Vienna where Franz (10) may pursue serious musical
study. They are being funded by several Hungarian noblemen from Pressburg (Bratislava).
May 9, 1822 Four songs by Franz Schubert (25) are published by Cappi and Diabelli, Vienna as his
op.8: Der Jüngling auf dem Hügel to words of Hüttenbrenner, and Sehnsucht, Erlafsee and Am Strome, all
to words of Mayrhofer.
May 12, 1822 Gaetano Donizetti’s (24) dramma La zingara to words of Tottola is performed for the
first time, in the Teatro Nuovo, Naples. The composer will later remark that “the public was certainly
not stingy with compliments.”
May 17, 1822 Friedrich IV replaces Emil Leopold August as Duke of Saxe-Gotha.
May 18, 1822 Augustín de Itúrbide is named Emperor of Mexico.
May 21, 1822 Johann Wolfgang von Goethe receives a copy of Ludwig van Beethoven’s (51)
Meeresstille un glückliche Fahrt, a cantata composed to Goethe’s words. It was sent by the composer.
May 24, 1822 A South American army under José Antonio de Sucre defeats the Spanish and Loyalist
defenders of Quito on the slopes of Pichincha, thus ensuring the independence of Ecuador.
May 27, 1822 Nurmahal, oder Das Rosenfest von Kaschmir, a lyrisches Drama mit Ballet by Gaspare
Spontini (47) to words of Herklots after Moore, is performed for the first time at the the Royal Opera
House, Berlin.
June 19, 1822 The United States recognizes the Republic of Colombia.
June 25, 1822 Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann dies in Berlin at the age of 46.
June 29, 1822 La lettera anonima, a dramma per musica by Gaetano Donizetti (24) to words of Genoino,
is performed for the first time, in Teatro del Fondo, Naples.
July 2, 1822 Denmark Vesey is hanged in Charleston, South Carolina. A free black, he was the leader
of a planned slave revolt which was betrayed before it was put into action.
July 7, 1822 Spanish Royal Guards form at Pardo and march to Madrid with a muddled program, to
take control of the government.
July 8, 1822 Percy Bysshe Shelley is drowned at the age of 29 while sailing in a storm with a friend off
Viareggio. His body washes onto the beach and is cremated on the spot. All is consumed, save his
heart. His wife Mary will carry it with her in a silken shroud for the rest of her life.
Spanish Royal Guards are defeated in Madrid by troops and militia loyal to the ministry.
July 10, 1822 Santiago Usoz Mozi replaces Francisco Martínez de la Rosa as First Secretary of State of
Spain.
The Kingdom of Guatemala is renamed the United Provinces of the Center of America.
July 11, 1822 Nicolás María Garelli Battifira replaces Santiago Usoz Mozi as First Secretary of State of
Spain.
July 15, 1822 Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka (18) graduates from St. Petersburg University Boarding
School. At the ceremony he plays the Piano Concerto in a minor by Johann Nepomuk Hummel (43).
July 21, 1822 Augustín de Iturbide is crowned Emperor of Mexico.
July 22, 1822 The British Parliament passes one of the first animal rights laws, the Cruel Treatment of
Cattle Act, designed to protect farm animals.
After three months devoted to his music, Gioachino Rossini (30) departs Vienna. Prince Metternich, a
great admirer, has engaged Rossini to be the “official composer” of the Verona Conference coming up
in November.
July 23, 1822 Santiago Usoz Mozi replaces Nicolás María Garelli Battifira as First Secretary of State of
Spain.
July 26, 1822 The two great liberators of South America, Simón Bolívar and José de San Martín, meet
in Guyaquil. They do not get along and can not agree to join forces.
July 30, 1822 Der Wachtelschlag D.742, a song by Franz Schubert (25) to words of Sauter, is published
in the Zeitschrift für Kunst, Vienna.
July 31, 1822 The provinces of Quito, Guyaquil and Cuenca become part of Gran Colombia.
August 5, 1822 Evaristo Fernández San Miguel y Valledor replaces Santiago Usoz Mozi as First
Secretary of State of Spain.
August 12, 1822 British Foreign Secretary Lord Castlereagh cuts his own throat with a pen knife, at
his estate in Kent. He has been showing signs of madness for some time.
August 13, 1822 Tsar Alyeksandr of Russia forbids all secret societies including the Masons.
August 21, 1822 Hector Berlioz (18) witnesses a performance of Gluck’s (†34) Iphigénie en Tauride at
the Paris Opéra. By the end, he has decided that he will give up his medical studies and become a
composer.
August 25, 1822 Antonio Salieri (72) writes to Prince Esterházy asking him to support his young
composition student Franz Liszt (10).
September 4, 1822 Jean Baptiste Séraphin Joseph, comte de Villèle becomes Prime Minister of France.
September 5, 1822 An earthquake in Aleppo (Halab) in the Ottoman Empire kills 22,000 people.
September 7, 1822 Dom Pedro, left as regent of Brazil by his father, King João VI of Portugal,
summarily proclaims the independence of Brazil on the banks of the River Ipircinga near São Paulo.
September 9, 1822 Publication of Die Kunst des Fingersatzes...in einer Sammlung classischer
Compositionen by Carl Czerny (31) is announced in the Wiener Zeitung.
September 23, 1822 A liberal constitution for Portugal is promulgated. João VI takes the oath as
constitutional monarch.
September 27, 1822 Jean-François Champollion reads his Lettre à M.Dacier relative à l’alphabet des
hyeroglyphes phonetiques to the Royal Academy of Inscriptions. Based on the Rosetta Stone and other
inscriptions, he describes the beginning of the deciphering of ancient Egyptian writing. He has also
begun the study of Egyptology.
October 3, 1822 A new overture and a chorus, Wo sich die Pulse, by Ludwig van Beethoven (51) are
performed for the first time, for the opening of the Josephstadttheater, Vienna, conducted by the
composer. They are attached to Beethoven’s Die Ruinen von Athen which has been adapted by Carl
Meisl as Die Weihe des Hauses.
October 7, 1822 The Mendelssohn family makes a visit to Goethe’s home in Weimar. It is the second
meeting with the poet for Felix (13). Fanny (16) plays Bach and her Goethe songs for him. When Felix
plays, the poet remarks, “You are my David, and if I am ever ill and sad, you must banish my bad
dreams by your playing…”
October 8, 1822 The Galunggung volcano on Java erupts sending mudflows which kill over 4,000
people and destroying over 100 village.
October 12, 1822 The Galunggung volacano erupts for a second time, blowing the top off the
mountain and spewing rock and ash into the air.
Dom Pedro, son of King João VI of Portugal, is proclaimed constitutional emperor of Brazil.
October 20, 1822 The Congress of Verona convenes to continue the absolutist ideals of the Congress
of Laibach of last year. Present are the Emperor of Austria, the Tsar of Russia, the King of Prussia and
all the leaders of Italy except the Pope.
October 21, 1822 Hector Berlioz (18) begins his journey from La Côte-St.-André to Paris after summer
vacation. His father expects that he will resume his medical studies.
October 26, 1822 Gaetano Donizetti’s (24) melodramma semiseria Chiara e Serafina, o Il pirata to words
of Romani after Pixérécourt is performed for the first time, in Teatro alla Scala, Milan.
October 30, 1822 The Caledonian Canal is opened joining the east and west sides of Scotland from
Inverness to Loch Linnhe.
Franz Schubert (25) dates the score to the two movements of the Symphony no.8 “Unfinished”.
November 1, 1822 Fire begins in Canton and will destroy much of the city.
November 3, 1822 Ludwig van Beethoven’s (51) Gratulations-Menuet WoO 3 is performed for the first
time, in Vienna for the nameday of Carl Friedrich Hensler, new director of the theater in Josephstadt.
November 10, 1822 At a meeting of the Philharmonic Society of London, the members vote to offer
£50 to Ludwig van Beethoven (51) for a new symphony.
November 11, 1822 Hamdullah Abdullah Pasha replaces Haci Salih Pasha as Grand Vizier of the
Ottoman Empire.
November 19, 1822 Sultan Sulaiman of Morocco dies and is succeeded by his nephew Abd ar-
Rahman.
November 21, 1822 Owing to political unrest, the faculty of the Paris College of Medicine is
dismissed and the college is closed. Hector Berlioz (18), a student for little more than a year, thus ends
his regular studies of medicine.
November 23, 1822 Fanny Mendelssohn (17) completes the composition of her first piece of chamber
music, a piano quartet in A flat.
November 24, 1822 Gioachino Rossini’s (30) cantata La Santa Alleanza to words of Rossi is performed
for the first time, in the Arena, Verona, commissioned by Prince Metternich for the Congress of
Verona as a celebration of the Holy Alliance.
November 28, 1822 An overture and five choral numbers for Den Sachsen-Sogn vermählet heute J.289, a
festspiel by Robert, by Carl Maria von Weber (36), are performed for the first time, to celebrate the
wedding of Prince Johann of Saxony to Princess Amalie August of Bavaria, at the Dresden Hoftheater.
Valentine de Milan, a drame lyrique by Etienne-Nicolas Méhul (†5) to words of Bouilly and completed
by Daussoigne-Méhul, is performed for the first time, in the Théâtre Feydeau, Paris.
December 1, 1822 Franz Liszt (11), now a piano student of Carl Czerny (31) and a composition
student of Antonio Salieri (72), gives his first public concert in the Landständischer Saal, Vienna. It is
very well received. The Allgemeine Zeitung will call him “a little Hercules...fallen from the clouds.”
Dom Pedro, son of King João VI of Portugal, is crowned Emperor of Brazil.
December 2, 1822 Richard Geyer (Wagner) (9) enters the Kreuzschule in Dresden.
December 3, 1822 Il vero omaggio, a cantata by Gioachino Rossini (30) to words of Rossi, is performed
for the first time, in the Teatro Filarmonico, Verona, commissioned by Prince Metternich for the
Congress of Verona. The performance takes place before the assembled heads of state.
December 5, 1822 Concerto in a minor for piano and strings by Felix Mendelssohn (13) is performed
for the first time, in Berlin.
December 10, 1822 7:00 a.m. César-Auguste-Jean-Guillaume-Hubert Franck is born in Liège, in the
Walloon District of the Netherlands, the second of five children (eldest of two surviving infancy) born
to Nicholas-Joseph Franck, an unemployed clerk, and Marie-Catherine-Barbe Frings, the daughter of a
German textile merchant.
December 12, 1822 Jan Václav Vorísek (31) undergoes examination as one of nine candidates for the
position of second court organist in Vienna. He is successful and will take up duties next month.
The United States recognizes Mexico.
December 13, 1822 Eight songs by Franz Schubert (25) are published by Cappi and Diabelli, Vienna:
Drei Gesänge des Harfners to words of Goethe as his op.12, and Der Schäfer und der Reiter to words of
Fouqué, Lob der Tränen to words of von Schlegel and Der Alpenjäger to words of Mayrhofer, all as his
op.13, and the first setting of Suleika and Geheimes, both to words of Goethe as his op.14.
December 14, 1822 The Viceroy of Ireland is physically attacked during riots by Orangemen in
Dublin.
The Congress of Verona grants France a free hand in suppressing the rebellion in Spain, then adjourns
without discussing Greece.
December 22, 1822 Ludwig van Beethoven (52) is elected an honorary member of the Swedish Royal
Academy of Arts and Sciences, Stockholm.
December 23, 1822 Opferlied op.121b by Ludwig van Beethoven (52) is performed for the first time, in
Pressburg (Bratislava).
December 29, 1822 Gioachino Rossini (30) is received by King George IV at Brighton Court.
January 1, 1823 Ludwig van Beethoven (52) applies for the position of Imperial Court Composer.
January 10, 1823 Jan Václav Vorísek (31), a clerk in the maritime division of the Imperial War
Deparment in Vienna, is appointed assistant court organist.
January 22, 1823 A secret treaty is signed at the Congress of Verona. It gives France a free hand to
enter the Spanish Civil War to restore Fernando VII to his absolute throne.
January 25, 1823 Ludwig van Beethoven (52) accepts a commission from Prince Galitsin for “one,
two, or three new quartets.”
Leicester, ou Le château di Kenilworth, an opéra comique by Daniel-François-Esprit Auber (40) to words
of Scribe and Melesville after Scott, is performed for the first time, in the Théâtre Feydeau, Paris
January 27, 1823 The United States recognizes the United Provinces in South America (Argentina)
and the State of Chile.
January 28, 1823 Bernardo O’Higgins resigns as President of Chile under pressure, and is succeeded
by Ramón Freire.
January 31, 1823 The ambassadors of the Holy Alliance (Austria-France-Prussia-Russia) depart
Madrid after the Cortes refuses to make changes to the Spanish Constitution.
February 2, 1823 A cantata for the birthday of the Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar by Johann Nepomuk
Hummel (44) is performed for the first time.
February 3, 1823 Gioachino Rossini’s (30) melodramma tragico Semiramide to words of Rossi after
Voltaire is performed for the first time, in Teatro La Fenice, Venice to a very enthusiastic response.
This is the last opera Rossini will write for Italy.
February 4, 1823 Walter Oudney and Hugh Clapperton of Great Britain become the first Europeans to
see Lake Chad. They call it Lake Waterloo.
February 6, 1823 Maria Szymanowska (33) performs in Kiev.
February 19, 1823 A mob gathers before the royal palace in Madrid demanding the deposition of the
king and installation of a regency. The king retires to Seville where he is deposed by the Cortes.
February 20, 1823 British sealer/explorer James Weddell, aboard the brig Jane, fixes his position at
74°15’S at 34°16'45"W. This furthest south will not be bested until 1841.
Gretchen am Spinnrade D.118, a song by Franz Schubert (26) to words of Goethe, is performed publicly
for the first time, in the Vienna Musikverein.
February 23, 1823 A Symphony in D by Jan Václav Vorísek (31) is performed for the first time, in
Vienna. It is moderately successful.
February 24, 1823 Franz Schubert’s (26) Wandererfantasie is published as op.15.
February 28, 1823 Franz Schubert (26) writes to the court secretary Ignaz Franz von Mosel,
mentioning that his health “still does not permit me to leave the house.” This is the first mention of
what may be the illness which will eventually take his life.
March 3, 1823 25 English gentlement create the London Greek Committee to raise money and
volunteers for the Greek rebellion against Turkey.
March 4, 1823 Silahdr Ali Pasha replaces Hamdullah Abdullah Pasha as Grand Vizier of the Ottoman
Empire.
March 6, 1823 Franz Schubert’s (26) song Die abgeblühte Linde D.514 to words of Széchérnyi is
performed for the first time, in the Vienna Musikverein.
March 13, 1823 Michael Faraday reads his paper “On Fluid Chlorine” to the Royal Society in London.
He describes how used cold temperatures and pressure to liquefy chlorine, normally a gas.
March 19, 1823 Mexican Emperor Augustín de Iturbide is forced to abdicate.
March 25, 1823 Great Britain recognizes the Greeks as belligerents in war against Turkey.
Drang in die Ferne D.770, a song by Franz Schubert (26) to words of Leitner, is published in the
Zeitschrift für Kunst, Vienna.
March 31, 1823 Manuel Felix Fernández Guadelupe Victoria, at the head of a triumverate, begins to
rule Mexico.
April 1, 1823 Omaggio pastorale, a cantata by Gioachino Rossini (31), is performed for the possibly the
first time, in Treviso, for the unveiling of a memorial bust of Antonio Canova.
April 7, 1823 France invades Spain to restore an absolute monarchy.
April 10, 1823 Johann Baptist Jenger proposes his friend Franz Schubert (26) as an honorary member
of the Styrian Music Society at Graz in spite of his youth. The proposal is accepted.
Franz Schubert (26) writes to his publisher Cappi and Diabelli accusing them of shady practices and
severing relations.
Three songs by Franz Schubert (26) are published by Sauer and Leidesdorf, Vienna as his op.20: Sei
mir gegrüsst to words of Rückert, Frühlingsglaube, to words of Uhland, and Hänflings Liebeswerbung to
words of Kind.
Franz Liszt (11) writes the following in Ludwig van Beethoven’s (52) conversation book, “I have often
expressed the wish to Herr von Schindler to make your lofty acquaintance, and am rejoiced now to be
able to do so. As I will give a concert on Sunday the 13th I most humbly beg you to grant me your
exalted presence.” Contrary to Liszt’s own report, Beethoven does not attend. Now almost totally
deaf, he does not appear at concerts. (approximate date)
April 13, 1823 A second, revised constitution for Greece is adopted by the Second National Assembly
in Astros of Kynouria.
Franz Liszt (11) gives a large concert in the Redoutensaal, Vienna, playing music of Hummel (44),
Moscheles and improvisations on themes suggested by the audience.
April 21, 1823 The steamboat Virginia begins the first ascent of the Mississippi by motor power.
April 24, 1823 Simon Mayr’s (59) cantata La vita campestre is performed for the first time, in Bergamo.
April 25, 1823 José Manuel Vadillo replaces Evaristo Fernández San Miguel y Valledor as First
Secretary of State of Spain.
The Paris College of Medicine is reopened after the government shut it down for five months for
political unrest. Hector Berlioz (19) is no longer a student.
May 1, 1823 Franz Liszt (11) gives a homecoming concert in Pest after his triumphal trip to Vienna.
He wears a national Hungarian costume. It is the first of five performances in Pest this month.
May 5, 1823 The First Piano Concerto of Frédéric Kalkbrenner (37) is performed for the first time.
May 6, 1823 Maria Szymanowska (33) performs before 900 people in Warsaw in preparation for a
three-year concert tour.
May 7, 1823 Santiago Usoz y Mozi replaces José Manuel Vadillo as First Secretary of State of Spain.
May 10, 1823 Petros Iliou Mavromichalis replaces Alexandros Nikolaou Mavrokordatos as President
of the Executive of Greece.
The steamboat Virginia reaches Fort Snelling (Minnesota) having completed the first ascent of the
Mississippi River under motor power.
May 12, 1823 Le muletier, an opéra comique by Ferdinand Hérold (32) to words of de Kock after La
Fontaine after Boccaccio, is performed for the first time, in the Théâtre Feydeau, Paris.
May 13, 1823 José Maria Pando replaces Santiago Usoz y Mozi as First Secretary of State of Spain.
May 22, 1823 Following his desire to travel, Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka (18) makes for the Caucasus,
reaching Kharkov today.
The US House passes the protectionist Tariff of 1824.
May 24, 1823 French troops enter Madrid.
May 25, 1823 A Concerto in d minor for violin, piano and strings by Felix Mendelssohn (14) is
performed for the first time, privately, at the Mendelssohn residence in Berlin. See July 3, 1823.
May 27, 1823 Portuguese military units favoring absolutism, led by Don Miguel, revolt at Vila Franca
de Xira north of Lisbon. José António Faria de Carvalho replaces Filipe Ferreira de Araújo e Castro as
Secretary of State (prime minister) of Portugal.
Víctor Damían Sáez y Sánchez-Mayor becomes First Secretary of State of the counter-government of
Spain.
Two songs by Franz Schubert (26) to words of von Collin are published by Sauer and Leidesdorf,
Vienna as his op.22: Der Zwerg and Wehmut.
May 28, 1823 Lord Bathurst, British Colonial Secretary, orders the governors of the West Indian
colonies that flogging slave women is henceforth forbidden and that slave overseers may not use
whips in the fields.
May 29, 1823 Anton Philipp Heinrich (42) gives his first concert after arriving in Boston.
May 30, 1823 Aristea, an azione pastorale by Gaetano Donizetti (25) to words of Schmidt, is performed
for the first time, in Teatro San Carlo, Naples.
June 2, 1823 Joaquim Pedro Gomes de Oliveira replaces José António Faria de Carvalho Filipe
Ferreira de Araújo e Castro as Secretary of State (prime minister) of Portugal.
June 5, 1823 A new law creates provincial assemblies in Prussia.
June 11, 1823 When King Fernando VII of Spain refuses to quit Madrid before the invading French,
the Cortes deposes him and sets up a Council of Regency.
June 16, 1823 Publication of the Diabelli Variations by Ludwig van Beethoven (32) is announced.
June 17, 1823 Scotsman Charles MacIntosh receives a patent for his waterproof cloth he has been
using to make raincoats.
June 18, 1823 King João VI annuls the Portuguese constitution after protests against him over the loss
of Brazil.
June 19, 1823 Three songs by Franz Schubert (26) to words of Mayrhofter are published by Sauer and
Leidesdorf, Vienna as his op.21: Auf der Donau, Der Schiffer and Wie Ulfru fischt.
June 23, 1823 George and Robert Stephenson open a foundry in Newcastle-upon-Tyne for the
purpose of building locomotives.
June 30, 1823 Maria Szymanowska (33) performs in Poznan on her three year concert tour of Europe.
July 1, 1823 Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras and Costa Rica form the Confederation of
United Provinces of Central America, independent of Mexico. Chiapas decides to remain in Mexico.
July 2, 1823 Peter I replaces Wilhelm as Duke of Oldenburg.
Alfredo il grande, a dramma per musica by Gaetano Donizetti (25) to words of Tottola, is performed for
the first and only time, in Teatro San Carlo, Naples.
July 3, 1823 A Concerto in d minor for violin, piano and strings by Felix Mendelssohn (14) is
performed publicly for the first time, in the Schauspielhaus, Berlin. See May 25, 1823.
July 14, 1823 Switzerland refuses the right of asylum to foreign refugees.
July 16, 1823 George Gordon, Lord Byron sets sail from Italy with a small party for Greece, where he
intends to aid the Greeks in their uprising.
July 17, 1823 US Secretary of State John Quincy Adams informs the Russian minister in Washington,
Baron Tuyll, that his government will not recognize any Russian territorial claims in North America.
July 21, 1823 Maria Szymanowska (33) performs in Carlsbad, Bohemia on her three year concert tour
of Europe.
July 28, 1823 Jessonda, an opera by Louis Spohr (39) to words of Gehe after Lemierre, is performed for
the first time, in the Kassel Hoftheater.
August 2, 1823 Jan Václav Vorísek (32) travels from Vienna to Karlsbad for treatment of a serious
illness (probably tuberculosis). He will stay for a month.
August 4, 1823 Four songs by Franz Schubert (26) are published by Sauer and Leidesdorf, Vienna as
his op.23: Selige Welt and Schwanengesang, both to words of Senn, Die Liebe hat gelogen to words of
Platen and Schatzgräbers Begehr to words of Schober.
Adam Liszt writes to Prince Metternich requesting a passport and introductions to the Austrian
ambassadors in Paris, Munich and London, where he plans to take his prodigious son, Franz (11).
August 5, 1823 Maria Szymanowska (33) meets Johann Wolfgang von Goethe for the first time, in
Marienbad. He is quite taken with her and calls her the “female Hummel (44).”
August 12, 1823 Hector Berlioz’ (19) first essay appears in Le Corsaire.
August 13, 1823 Ludwig van Beethoven (52) departs the home of Baron von Pronay at Hertzendorf,
where he has been staying, for Baden.
August 14, 1823 By this date, Franz Schubert (26) has moved to Steyr with Johann Michael Vogl. He
begins to despair that he will ever be well again.
August 20, 1823 Giorgio Barnaba Luigi Chiaramonti, Pope Pius VII, dies in Rome.
August 29, 1823 Juan Antonio Yandiola Garay replaces José Maria Pando as First Secretary of State of
Spain.
August 31, 1823 French troops storm and conquer the Trocadero and enter Cadiz.
September 3, 1823 Gaetano Donizetti’s (25) dramma giocoso Il fortunato inganno to words of Tottola is
performed for the first time, in Teatro Nuovo, Naples. It will receive only two more performances.
September 4, 1823 José Luyando replaces Juan Antonio Yandiola Garay as First Secretary of State of
Spain.
September 8, 1823 Ferdinand Hérold’s (32) opéra L’asthénie to words of Chaillou is performed for the
first time, in the Paris Opéra.
September 10, 1823 Johann Simon Mayr (60) is elected president of the Ateneo, Bergamo.
The National Assembly of Peru names Simon Bolivar as supreme commander of the country.
September 16, 1823 Carl Maria von Weber (36) travels to Vienna for the premiere of Euryanthe.
September 20, 1823 The Liszt family depart Vienna for Paris.
Franz Schubert (26) writes to the Styrian Musical Society in Graz, thanking them for the honorary
membership they voted for him last April. It is the first official honor he has received.
September 22, 1823 Incidental music to Hell’s play Ali Baba oder Die 40 Räuber by Heinrich August
Marschner (28), is performed for the first time, in Dresden.
September 26, 1823 Franz Liszt (11) and his family arrive in Munich from Vienna.
September 28, 1823 Annibale Francesco Sermattei, conte della Genga becomes Pope Leo XII.
September 30, 1823 The constitutional regency in Cadiz releases King Fernando in return for amnesty
from the surrounding French army.
October 1, 1823 King Fernando VII of Spain is returned to full power by the French and immediately
begins executing his enemies.
October 5, 1823 While in Vienna for the premiere of Euryanthe, Carl Maria von Weber (36) travels to
Baden to visit Ludwig van Beethoven (52).
October 9, 1823 Daniel-François-Esprit Auber’s (41) opéra comique La neige, ou Le nouvel Eginhard to
words of Scribe and Delavigne is performed for the first time, in Thêâtre Feydeau, Paris.
October 12, 1823 Maria Szymanowska (33) performs before 700 people in Leipzig on her three year
concert tour of Europe.
October 17, 1823 Franz Liszt (11) gives the first of three concerts in Munich. Present is King
Maximilian I of Bavaria. The reviews of this performance contain so many superlatives that his
second concert will be sold out.
October 20, 1823 Gioachino Rossini (31) and his wife leave Bologna for Paris and England.
After the success of her October 12 performance, Maria Szymanowska (33) plays for a second time in
Leipzig on her three year concert tour of Europe.
October 25, 1823 Carl Maria von Weber’s (36) grand Romantic opera Euryanthe to words of von
Chézy after Gerbert de Montreuil, is performed for the first time, in the Kärntnertortheater, Vienna,
conducted by the composer. The work is enthusiastically received, although some find it confusing,
including Franz Schubert (26) who expresses dislike for the work. Unable to gain her reserved seat
through the crowd, the librettist, Helmina von Chézy is passed over the heads of the audience.
October 27, 1823 Two songs by Franz Schubert (26) are published by Sauer and Leidesdorf, Vienna as
his op.24: the second setting of Gruppe aus dem Tartarus to words of Schiller, and Schlummerlied
(Schlaflied) to words of Mayrhofter.
Maria Szymanowska (33) performs for Johann Wolfgang von Goethe in Weimar on her three year
concert tour of Europe.
October 29, 1823 Franz Liszt (12) and his family arrive in Augsburg where he will give three concerts
over the next four days.
November 4, 1823 Maria Szymanowska (33) performs in Weimar on her three year concert tour of
Europe.
November 5, 1823 Maria Szymanowska (33) departs Weimar and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.
November 9, 1823 Gioachino Rossini (31) enters Paris for the first time, on his way to England. The
city will be very important in his later life.
November 12, 1823 Emperor Pedro of Brazil dissolves the Constituent Assembly and arrests its
leading members.
November 16, 1823 A gigantic banquet is given in Paris by the city’s leading artists in honor of
Gioachino Rossini (31) in the Restaurant du Veau Qui Tette. 150 guests attend including Adrien
Boieldieu (47), Daniel-François-Esprit Auber (41), Ferdinand Hérold (32), many singers, actors and
artists.
November 22, 1823 Hymne an die heilige Cäcilie for soprano, chorus and organ by Louis Spohr (39) to
words of von Calenberg is performed for the first time, in Kassel. The solo part is sung by the
composer’s daughter Emilie.
November 29, 1823 After several unsuccessful attempts, Carl Maria von Weber’s (37) request for an
assistant is granted by the Dresden court. He desires that his friend, Johann Gänsbacher be appointed
but Gänsbacher has just been appointed Kapellmeister at St. Stephen’s in Vienna. The post will go to
someone not in favor with Weber, Heinrich August Marschner (28).
November 30, 1823 Franz Schubert (26) writes to Schober that “my health, thank God, is firmly
restored at last.”
December 2, 1823 Carlos Martínez de Irujo y Tacón,marqués de Casa-Irujo, duque de Sotomayor
replaces Víctor Damían Sáez y Sánchez-Mayor as First Secretary of State of Spain.
In a message to Congress, President James Monroe declares, “We should consider any attempt on
their (European powers) part to extend their system (Concert of Europe) to any portion of this
hemisphere as dangerous to our peace and safety.” It is hereafter known as the Monroe Doctrine.
December 3, 1823 Franz Liszt (12) gives the first of two concerts in Strasbourg.
December 5, 1823 Vendôme en Espagne, a drame lyrique by Daniel-François-Esprit Auber (41) and
Ferdinand Hérold (32) to words of d’Empis and Mennechet, is performed for the first time, at the
Paris Opéra.
December 7, 1823 Gioachino Rossini (31) and his wife depart Paris for London.
Concerto for two pianos in E by Felix Mendelssohn (14) is performed for the first time, at the
Mendelssohn residence in Berlin. One of the invited guests is Friedrich Kalkbrenner (38).
December 10, 1823 Mary Anning discovers the bones of a Plesiosaurus, in Dorset. This, and others of
her fossil discoveries, help to prove that some species have gone extinct.
Maria Szymanowska (33) performs in Berlin on her three year concert tour of Europe.
December 11, 1823 Franz Liszt (12) and his father arrive in Paris.
William Prout reads his paper On the nature of the acid and saline matters usually existing in the stomachs
of animals before the Royal Society in London. In it, he clearly shows that hydrochloric acid is the
agent of digestion.
December 12, 1823 Franz Liszt (12) and his father seek out the director of the Paris Conservatoire,
Luigi Cherubini (63), to ask for admittance. The director, an Italian, explains that admittance is
reserved only for French citizens.
December 13, 1823 Gioachino Rossini (31) and his wife arrive in London. He immediately takes to
bed to recover from the Channel crossing.
December 15, 1823 La France et l’Espagne, a scéne lyrique by Adrien Boieldieu to words of Chazet, is
performed for the first time, in the Hôtel de Ville, Paris on the eve of the composer’s 48th birthday.
December 20, 1823 Incidental music to von Chézy’s play Rosamunde, Fürstin von Zypern by Franz
Schubert (26) is performed for the first time, in the Theater-an-der-Wien, Vienna. The play is a failure.
December 22, 1823 Franz Liszt (12) performs in Paris to sensational audience and critical response.
He will perform in Paris no less than 38 times before next April.
December 23, 1823 The Troy (NY) Sentinel publishes a poem by Clement Clarke Moore, without
attribution, entitled “A Visit From St. Nicholas” beginning with the words, ‘Twas the Night Before
Christmas.”
December 25, 1823 Narciso de Heredia y Begines, Conde de Ofalia replaces Carlos Martínez de Irujo
y Tacón, marqués de Casa-Irujo, duque de Sotomayor as First Secretary of State of Spain.
Two works for chorus and organ by Samuel Wesley (57) are performed for the first time, in St. Paul’s
Cathedral, London: Magnificat and Nunc dimittis.
December 29, 1823 Gioachino Rossini (31) is presented to King George IV of Great Britain at the
Royal Pavilion in Brighton. By request of the king, he sings two of his own arias, accompanying
himself on the piano. Choristers of the Chapel Royal also perform, including Samuel Sebastian
Wesley (13).
December 30, 1823 Auf dem Wasser zu singen D.774, a song by Franz Schubert (26) to words of
Stolberg, is published in the Zeitschrift für Kunst, Vienna.
December 31, 1823 Georgios Andreou Koundouriotis replaces Petros Iliou Mavromichalis as
President of the Executive of Greece.
January 7, 1824 The first issue of the Berliner allgemeine musikalische Zeitung goes on sale.
January 8, 1824 Ludwig van Beethoven (53) writes a conciliatory letter to his sister-in-law, Johanna
van Beethoven, offering her financial assistance.
January 11, 1824 Franz Liszt (12) improvises at the piano at a meeting of the SociétéAcadémique des
Enfants d’Apollon in Paris. They make him an honorary member.
January 12, 1824 In Paris, Hector Berlioz (20) takes the oral examination at the Faculty of Sciences and
passes, giving him the degree of Bachelier ès sciences physiques and qualifying him for advanced
study in medicine. The degree will be awarded tomorrow.
January 21, 1824 A British force led by the Governor of Sierra Leone, Charles MacCarthy, is virtually
wiped out by the Ashanti at Accra in the Gold Coast (Ghana). MacCarthy is killed in the battle.
January 24, 1824 Gioachino Rossini (31) conducts in London for the first time, Zelmira at the King’s
Theater. It is not well attended and the performance is not particularly good.
January 26, 1824 Théodore Gericault dies in Paris at the age of 32.
January 30, 1824 Albert Lortzing (22) marries Rosina Regina Ahles, a singer and actress.
February 3, 1824 In Berlin, Carl Friedrich Zelter publicly announces that his student, Felix
Mendelssohn, has completed his apprenticeship and calls him to the world of independent
composers. It is Mendelssohn’s 15th birthday.
February 4, 1824 L’ajo nell’imbarazzo, a melodramma giocoso by Gaetano Donizetti (26) to words of
Ferretti after Giraud, is performed for the first time, in Teatro Valle, Rome.
February 7, 1824 Die beiden Neffen oder Der Onkel aus Boston, a singspiel by Felix Mendelssohn (15) to
words of Casper, is performed for the first time, before a small invited audience at the Mendelssohn
residence in Berlin.
February 26, 1824 Ludwig van Beethoven (53) receives a petition signed by 30 musicians, publishers
and other admirers, pleading with him to put on a performance of his newest works.
February 27, 1824 Gioachino Rossini (31) signs a contract with the French government at the French
embassy in London. He agrees to stay in France for one year, write new operas for the Théâtre-Italien
and the Opéra as well as produce his older operas.
March 2, 1824 10:00 a.m. Shrove Tuesday. Bedrich Smetana is born in Litomysl, Bohemia, 137 km
east of Prague, son of Frantisek Smetana, a cooper, barrel binder and master brewer in service to
several noblemen, and Barbora Lynkova, daughter of a coachman. The child is the third of his
mother’s ten children and the eleventh of his father’s eighteen children.
March 5, 1824 After Burmese forces capture the Island of Shahpuri, which is claimed by the East
India Company, the British Governor General Lord Amhurst declares war on Burma.
March 6, 1824 Maria Szymanowska (34) gives her first performance in Paris, in a private salon, on her
three year concert tour of Europe.
March 7, 1824 Il crociato in Egitto, a melodramma eroico by Giacomo Meyerbeer (32) to words of
Rossi, is performed for the first time, in Teatro La Fenice, Venice. The composer receives his most
overwhelming success to date.
Prince Louis-Philippe sponsors a concert by Franz Liszt (12) before a large and illustrious audience in
the Théâtre-Italien, Paris. The reviewer of Le Drapeau writes, “I am convinced that the soul and spirit
of Mozart have passed into the body of young Liszt.”
March 13, 1824 Carlo Ludovico, son of Duchess Maria Luisa, becomes Duke of Parma.
March 14, 1824 Franz Schubert’s (27) String Quartet D.804 is performed for the first time, in the Hall
of the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde, Vienna.
March 17, 1824 Great Britain and the Netherlands sign the Treaty of London dividing the east indies
between themselves. The Netherlands will rule Sumatra, Java, Maluku, Irian Jaya and adjacent
islands while the British take Malaya, Singapore and retain an interest in North Borneo. Aceh is
nominally independent.
The first part of Franz Schubert’s (27) song cycle Die schöne Müllerin, to words of Müller, is published.
March 19, 1824 José António de Oliveira Leite de Barros, conde de Basto replaces Joaquim Pedro
Gomes de Oliveira as Secretary of State (prime minister) of Portugal.
March 31, 1824 Franz Schubert (27) writes to Leopold Kupelweiser that he is “the most wretched and
unhappy creature in the world.” He despairs over his health which “will never be right again,” his
hopes which “have come to nothing” and his “passion for beauty” which “threatens to forsake” him.
“...every night, when I go to bed, I hope I may not wake again, and every morning only recalls
yesterday’s grief.”
April 3, 1824 Morning and Evening Service for chorus and organ by Samuel Wesley (58) is performed
completely for the first time, in St. Paul’s Cathedral, London.
April 7, 1824 Mass in D “Missa Solemnis” for soloists, chorus and orchestra by Ludwig van
Beethoven (53) is performed completely for the first time, in St. Petersburg. See October 25, 1821.
April 11, 1824 Maria Szymanowska (34) gives a very successful performance at the Paris
Conservatoire, on her three year concert tour of Europe.
April 17, 1824 A treaty between Russia and the United States confines Russian claims in North
America to north of 54° 40’ north latitude.
April 19, 1824 On Easter Sunday, George, sixth Lord Byron, volunteer in the Greek rebellion, dies at
Missolonghi (Mesolongion), 200 km west of Athens, of malarial fever at the age of 36. His heart and
lungs will be buried in Greece, but his body will be laid to rest in Hucknall Torkard Church near
Newstead, Nottinghamshire.
April 20, 1824 After two months in the city, Maria Szymanowska (34) departs Paris for London.
April 27, 1824 Les trois genres, a scène lyrique by Adrien Boieldieu (48) and Daniel-François-Esprit
Auber (42) to words of Scribe, Dupaty and Pichat, is performed for the first time, in the Théâtre de
l’Odéon, Paris.
April 30, 1824 The garrison of Lisbon revolts in favor of the absolutist Dom Miguel, younger son of
King João VI.
May 1, 1824 Ludwig van Beethoven (53) takes a room for the summer in Penzing, but he will leave
after three weeks claiming that people on a nearby footbridge always stare at him while he is shaving.
May 5, 1824 Daniel-François-Esprit Auber’s (42) opéra comique Le concert a la cour, ou La débutante to
words of Scribe and Mélesville is performed for the first time, in Théâtre Feydeau, Paris.
May 7, 1824 The Symphony no.9 “choral” for soloists, chorus and orchestra by Ludwig van
Beethoven (53) to words of Schiller is performed for the first time, in the Kärntnertortheater, Vienna.
At the conclusion of the work, the crowd bursts into uproarious applause, including stamping of feet
and waving. Caroline Unger, the alto soloist, turns the composer around to view the spectacle
because he cannot hear it. In the audience is a very interested Franz Schubert (27).
May 9, 1824 After King João VI of Portugal submits to his son, Dom Miguel, he boards a British ship
and reasserts his authority.
May 11, 1824 British forces capture Rangoon (Yangon).
May 12, 1824 Marianne Wieck leaves her husband Friedrich in Leipzig and, taking her infant son
Victor and her daughter Clara (4), goes to her father’s house in Plauen to arrange a legal separation.
May 13, 1824 The absolutist son of King João, Dom Miguel, flees Portugal, his revolt failed.
May 14, 1824 Pedro de Sousa Holstein, marques e conde de Palmela replaces José António de Oliveira
Leite de Barros, conde de Basto as Secretary of State (prime minister) of Portugal.
May 18, 1824 Maria Szymanowska (34) performs for the Royal Philharmonic Society in London.
May 19, 1824 Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka (19) begins his duties as an under-secretary in the office of the
Council of Communications, St. Petersburg. “I had to be in the office only five to six hours per day, I
was not assigned work at home, and I had no real duties or responsibilities. Consequently, all the rest
of my time I could devote to my favorite activities, especially music.”
May 20, 1824 Samuel Wesley (58) is appointed organist of Camden Chapel.
May 23, 1824 Shortly after Antonio Salieri (73) cuts his own throat in a suicide attempt, Calisto Bassi
begins passing out printed copies of his poem “A Lodovico van Beethoven Ode Alcaica.” In it, Bassi
makes the first claim that Salieri poisoned Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (†32). Vienna police quickly
confiscate as many copies as they can find.
May 25, 1824 Franz Schubert (27) leaves Vienna for Zseliz to take up the position of music master to
the Esterházy family.
May 26, 1824 The United States recognizes the Empire of Brazil.
May 30, 1824 Heinrich August Marschner’s (28) duties as assistant to Carl Maria von Weber (37)
begin as he conducts Päer’s Wie gerufen in Dresden.
May 31, 1824 The Cathedral of the Assumption is consecrated in Baltimore. It is the first Roman
Catholic cathedral in the United States.
June 1, 1824 Gustaf af Wetterstedt replaces Lars von Engeström as Prime Minister for Foreign Affairs
of Sweden.
June 5, 1824 Franz Liszt (12) plays his London debut, in a semi-private setting at the Argyll Rooms.
June 11, 1824 Maria Szymanowska (34) gives a performance in the Hanover Square rooms, London in
the presence of members of the royal family.
Gioachino Rossini’s (32) canzone Il pianto delle muse in morte di Lord Byron is performed for the first
time, in Almack’s Assembly Rooms, London.
June 15, 1824 The Emperor of Austria grants Antonio Salieri’s (73) petition to be relieved of his duties
at full salary. “In the service of four monarchs of the imperial house you have proved an incorruptible
truth and devotion, and a perfect self-negation, which have never for a moment wavered, even in the
most diverse and, for less magnanimous persons than you, tempting relations.” He has held court
positions since the death of Gluck (†36).
June 16, 1824 Evening. 22 men, led by Richard Martin, MP, meet in Old Slaughter’s Coffee House
near Covent Garden in London. They desire to enforce regulations on the humane treatment of
animals passed by Parliament in 1822 and thereby organize themselves into a group they call the
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Among their number is William Wilberforce. In
1840, Queen Victoria will allow them to add “Royal” to their title.
June 18, 1824 Grand Duke Ferdinando III of Tuscany dies in Florence and is succeeded by his son
Leopoldo II.
June 21, 1824 The Egyptian fleet captures the island of Psara for the Sultan.
The British Parliament repeals the Combinations Acts of 1799-1800, thus allowing British workers to
organize.
Franz Liszt (12) plays his first public concert in London, at the Argyll Rooms. Among the attenders
are Muzio Clementi (72) and Frédéric Kalkbrenner (38). The room is full and the performance goes
very well.
June 25, 1824 Two nurses who have attend Antonio Salieri (73) since the winter of 1823 sign a
declaration that at no time did their patient confess to killing Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (†32).
June 26, 1824 An den Tod D.518, a song by Franz Schubert (27) to words of Schubart, is published in
the Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung, Vienna.
July 8, 1824 Carl Maria von Weber (37) visits Marienbad seeking a cure for his malady.
Hector Berlioz (20) arrives home in La Côte-St.-André for a stay of two and a half weeks.
July 11, 1824 Luis María de Salazar y Salazar replaces Narciso de Heredia y Begines, Conde de Ofalia
as First Secretary of State of Spain.
July 14, 1824 King Kamehameha II of Hawaii dies of measles in London and is succeeded by
Kamehameha III.
July 15, 1824 Camden Chapel is dedicated by the Bishop of London, with music provided by its
organist, Samuel Wesley (58).
July 17, 1824 After ten weeks in London, Maria Szymanowska (34) departs the city, heading for Paris.
July 21, 1824 Nangklao (Rama III) replaces Buddha Loetla (Rama II) as King of Krung Thep
(Thailand).
July 25, 1824 At the request of the Ottoman Sultan, an Egyptian fleet and army sail from Alexandria
(El Iskandariya) to aid in subduing Greek insurgents.
After two and a half weeks at home in La Côte-St.-André, in increasing conflict with his father and
family over his chosen vocation, Hector Berlioz (20) leaves to return to Paris.
July 26, 1824 Gioachino Rossini (32) and his wife leave London for Paris.
July 27, 1824 Franz Liszt (12) and his father are presented to King George IV at Windsor. He plays for
the King and a small private gathering for two hours.
July 28, 1824 Gaetano Donizetti’s (26) dramma semiseria Emiliá di Liverpool after Scatizzi is performed
for the first time, in Teatro Nuovo, Naples.
August 1, 1824 Gioachino Rossini (32) arrives in Paris under contract to the Ministry of the Royal
Household to write two new operas and produce one of his already existing works. He also agrees to
become director of the Théâtre-Italien.
August 2, 1824 A referendum in the State of Illinois abolishes slavery.
August 3, 1824 Singapore is ceded to Great Britain by the Sultan of Johore.
August 4, 1824 Franz Liszt (12) plays the first of two concerts at the Theater-Royal in Manchester.
The United States recognizes the United Provinces of Central America.
August 6, 1824 South Americans under Simón Bolívar defeat the Spanish at Junín, 150 km northeast
of Lima.
August 12, 1824 Adam and Franz Liszt (12) arrive in Calais from England.
August 15, 1824 The Cape Mesurado Colony, founded by the Amercian Colonization Society for the
repatriation of American slaves, is expanded into the Colony of Liberia.
August 18, 1824 Carl Maria von Weber (37) receives an offer from Charles Kemble for a new opera for
Covent Garden. The Englishman would also like Weber to come to London to produce Der Freischütz
and Preciosa.
August 21, 1824 Carl Maria von Weber (37) decides to accept the offer by Charles Kemble he received
three days ago.
Mexico gives up its claim to Guatemala.
August 24, 1824 Le roi René, ou La Provence au XVe siècle, an opéra comique by Ferdinand Hérold (33)
to words of Belle and Sewrin, is performed for the first time, in the Théâtre Feydeau, Paris.
August 31, 1824 Hector Berlioz (20) writes from Paris, replying to a scornful letter from his father: “I
am driven involuntarily towards a magnificent career--no other adjective can be applied to the career
of artist--and not towards my doom. For I believe I shall succeed; yes, I believe it...I wish to make a
name for myself, I wish to leave some trace of my existence on this earth; and so strong is the feeling--
which is an entirely honorable one--that I would rather be Gluck or Méhul dead than what I am in the
flower of my age.”
September 4, 1824 Joseph Anton Bruckner is born in Ansfelden near Linz the eldest of eleven
children (only five surviving infancy) born to Anton Bruckner, schoolmaster and organist, and
Therese Helm, daughter of a civil servant and innkeeper.
Gioachino Rossini (32) departs Paris for Bologna.
September 10, 1824 Greeks defeat Ottoman naval forces off Bodrum, Turkey.
September 11, 1824 Due to Carl Maria von Weber’s (37) increasing debilitation from tuberculosis,
Heinrich August Marschner (29) is appointed director of the German and Italian opera companies in
Dresden.
September 14, 1824 Following a referendum on the matter, Chiapas is incorporated into Mexico.
September 15, 1824 Benderli Selim Sirri Pasha replaces Mehmed Said Galip Pasha as Grand Vizier of
the Ottoman Empire.
September 16, 1824 King Louis XVIII of France dies in Paris and is succeeded by his brother, Charles
X.
September 17, 1824 After spending the summer with her mother, Clara Wieck (5) is legally given into
the custody of her father in Leipzig.
October 3, 1824 The first constitution of the United States of Mexico goes into effect, having been
approved yesterday.
October 10, 1824 Manuel Felix Fernández Guadelupe Victoria becomes the first President of Mexico.
October 11, 1824 The Times of London publishes an article about the newly published biographical
dictionary of musicians from Sainsbury and Co. Their article on Samuel Wesley (58) state that he died
in 1815. The Times points out that Wesley is very much alive.
October 16, 1824 Franz Schubert (27) departs Zseliz, where he has been music tutor to the Esterházy
family, to return to Vienna, in the company of Baron Schönstein.
October 21, 1824 Joseph Aspdin, a mason, receives a British patent for Portland Cement. It is the first
improvement on the cement used by the ancient Romans.
October 27, 1824 Clara Wieck (5) begins taking piano lessons with her father, in Leipzig.
November 4, 1824 Leocadie, a drame lyrique by Daniel-François-Esprit Auber (42) to words of Scribe
and Mélesville after Cervantes, is performed for the first time, in Théâtre Feydeau, Paris.
November 14, 1824 The Symphony no.1 op.11 by Felix Mendelssohn (15) is peformed for the first time,
in the Mendelssohn home, Berlin on the occasion of his sister Fanny’s 19th birthday.
November 15, 1824 Fire breaks out in Edinburgh.
November 17, 1824 Publication of the Two Piano Pieces op.109a by Johann Nepomuk Hummel (46) is
announced in the Wiener Zeitung.
The Great Fire of Edinburgh comes to an end after destroying large parts of the city including
Parliament Hill and the High Street.
November 19, 1824 When a brief stint of warm weather breaks an ice jam on the Neva River, the
water building up behind it inundates St. Petersburg in a catastrophic flood. Some estimates put the
death toll as high as 10,000.
November 22, 1824 In Berlin for a stay of six weeks, Ignaz Moscheles writes in his diary, “This
afternoon...I gave Felix (Mendelssohn) (15) his first lesson, never for a moment forgetting that I was
sitting beside a master, not a pupil.
November 24, 1824 A Credo in D for chorus and orchestra by Gaetano Donizetti (26) is performed for
the first time.
November 25, 1824 Gioachino Rossini (32) signs a contract with the Théâtre-Italien, Paris to become
directeur de la musique et de la scène.
November 29, 1824 Ludwig van Beethoven (53) is elected to honorary membership in the Gesellschaft
der Musikfreunde, Vienna.
December 7, 1824 After traveling for a month, Andrew Jackson arrives in Washington to await the
outcome of the hung presidential election of 1824.
A hack version of Carl Maria von Weber’s (38) Der Freischütz called Robin des bois ou les trois balles
opens at the Théâtre de l’Odéon in Paris. It will run for over 300 performances.
December 9, 1824 South American troops under Antonio José de Sucre defeat Spanish and Loyalist
forces on the plateau of Ayacucho, 325 km southeast of Lima, thus ending Spanish power in South
America.
December 11, 1824 Die Erscheinung D.229, a song by Franz Schubert (27) to words of Kosegarten, is
published in the Album musicale, Vienna.
December 24, 1824 Carl August Peter Cornelius is born in Mainz, fourth of six children born to Carl
Joseph Gerhard Cornelius and Friederike Schradtke, both actors.
December 27, 1824 Hector Berlioz’ (21) Messe en Grande Symphonie is rehearsed in the Church of St.
Roch. The parts prepared by the children of the choir are riddled with errors causing the musicians to
give up. A performance planned for tomorrow is cancelled.
December 31, 1824 Great Britain recognizes the independence of Buenos Aires, Mexico and
Colombia.
January 3, 1825 Scottish utopian Robert Owen purchases New Harmony, Indiana from the Harmonie
Society.
January 4, 1825 King Ferdinando I of the Two Sicilies dies in Naples and is succeeded by his son
Francesco I.
January 13, 1825 Die Forelle, a song by Franz Schubert (27) to words of Schubart, is published by
Diabelli, Vienna as his op.32. See December 9, 1820.
January 15, 1825 José Joaquim de Almeida e Araújo Correia de Lacerda replaces Pedro de Sousa
Holstein, marques e conde de Palmela as Secretary of State (prime minister) of Portugal.
January 19, 1825 Ezra Daggett and Thomas Kennett of New York City receive the first U.S. patent for
a canning process.
January 22, 1825 The parents of Clara Wieck (5) are granted a divorce.
January 25, 1825 The Bolshoi Theater opens in Moscow.
February 3, 1825 Franz Schubert’s (28) song Der Blumen Schmerz D.731 to words of Mayláth is
performed for the first time, in the Vienna Musikverein.
February 9, 1825 The United States House of Representatives decides the hung election of 1824 by
choosing John Quincy Adams as president on the first ballot, over Andrew Jackson and William
Crawford. Adams won largely through the efforts of Speaker of the House Henry Clay.
February 11, 1825 With the death of Duke Friedrich IV, the ruling house of the Duchy of Saxe-Gotha
comes to an end.
Two songs by Franz Schubert (28) to words of Mayrhofer are published by Cappi, Vienna as his op.36:
Der zürnenden Diana and Nachstück.
February 12, 1825 The United States concludes a treaty with the Creek Indians at Indian Springs,
Georgia. Creek leaders agree to remove themselves west of the Mississippi. Most Creeks will
repudiate the treaty.
February 14, 1825 President-elect John Quincy Adams appoints Henry Clay as Secretary of State.
This is widely seen as payback for his support on February 9.
February 18, 1825 The Mendelssohn family purchases a new mansion in Berlin, at 3 Leipzigerstrasse.
It will become a meeting place for the Mendelssohn circle, including Heinrich Heine, Hegel and
Alexander von Humboldt.
February 21, 1825 British astronomer George Biddell Airy reads a paper before the Cambridge
Philosophical Society wherein he first describes astigmatism (a condition from which he suffers) and
the lenses he has designed to correct the problem. He will not use the word astigmatism until later.
February 22, 1825 Der Holzdieb, a singspiel by Heinrich August Marschner (29) to words of Kind, is
performed for the first time, in Dresden Hoftheater. It is very successful.
February 23, 1825 Giacomo Meyerbeer (33) returns to Paris from his Italian sojourn. He is there to
produce his first opera in the city, Il Crociato in Egitto. See March 7, 1824.
February 24, 1825 Dr. Berlioz, after hearing of the fiasco of December 27, severs the allowance of his
son Hector. This is the beginning of Hector Berlioz’ (21) financial troubles which will continue
through the 1830s.
February 25, 1825 English explorer William Moorcroft reaches Bokhara (Buxoro, Uzbekistan).
Several thousand Egyptian troops land at Methoni on the southwest corner of the Peloponnesus.
Franz Schubert’s (28) song Der zürnenden Diana D.707 to words of Mayrhofer is performed for the first
time, in the Vienna Musikverein.
February 28, 1825 Two songs by Franz Schubert (28) to words of Schiller are published by Cappi,
Vienna as his op.37: Der Pilgrim and Der Alpenjäger.
A treaty between the United Kingdom and Russia sets their boundary in North America.
March 3, 1825 Franz Schubert’s (28) song Die junge Nonne D.828 to words of Craigher de Jachelutta is
performed for the first time, in the Vienna home of the singer, Sophie Müller. See December 28, 1826.
March 4, 1825 John Quincy Adams replaces James Monroe as president of the United States.
March 6, 1825 String Quartet op.127 by Ludwig van Beethoven (54) is performed for the first time, in
Vienna. It is not a success.
I voti dei sudditi, an azione pastorale by Gaetano Donizetti (27) to words of Schmidt, is performed for
the first time, in Teatro San Carlo, Naples.
March 7, 1825 The University of Virginia, its buildings and curriculum designed by Thomas Jefferson,
opens to students. The buildings will be completed next year.
John Poinsett is appointed as the first US minister to Mexico.
March 12, 1825 Der Einsame D.800, a song by Franz Schubert (28) to words of Lappe, is published in
the Zeitschrift für Kunst, Vienna.
March 15, 1825 Gaetano Donizetti (27) is engaged as maestro di cappella at Teatro Carolino in
Palermo.
March 18, 1825 The Senate of the University of Cambridge votes to grant Samuel Wesley (59) the
right to publish any part of the collection of manuscripts bequeathed to it by Lord Fitzwilliam in 1816.
He must do it at his own expense and risk.
March 20, 1825 Franz Schubert’s (28) vocal quartet Flucht D.825 to words of Lappe is performed for
the first time, in the Landhaussaal, Vienna.
March 22, 1825 Abraham and Felix Mendelssohn (16) arrive in Paris to accompany Abraham’s sister
Henriette back to Berlin. While in Paris, Felix will come in contact with and perform for many of the
composers and virtuosos of the city including Hummel (46), Auber (43), Kalkbrenner (39), Rossini
(33), Halévy (25), Liszt (13) and Kreutzer.
March 24, 1825 Mexico allows immigration from the US into the State of Texco-Coahuila.
Der Berggeist, an opera by Louis Spohr (40) to words of Döring, is performed for the first time, in the
Kassel Hoftheater as part of celebrations surrounding the marriage of the daughter of Elector Wilhelm
II of Hesse-Kassel to Duke Bernhard Erich of Saxe-Meiningen.
March 31, 1825 Felix Mendelssohn (16) participates in a performance in Paris of Mozart's (†33)
Requiem as a violinist. Here he meets Luigi Cherubini (64) for a second time.
April 1, 1825 Felix Mendelssohn (16) hears Franz Liszt (13) for the first time, at a Concert Spirituel at
the Académie Royale, Paris.
April 8, 1825 Johann Nepomuk Hummel (46) gives the first of his concerts on his current stay in Paris.
April 10, 1825 Der Alpenjäger D.588, a song by Franz Schubert (28) to words of Schiller, is performed
for the first time, in the Vienna Musikverein.
April 15, 1825 A new French law makes the crime of sacrilege a capital offense.
Johann Nepomuk Hummel (46) gives the second of his concerts on his current stay in Paris.
April 22, 1825 Johann Nepomuk Hummel (46) gives the third of his concerts on his current stay in
Paris.
April 25, 1825 An Egyptian army lands at the southern tip of the Peloponnesus to aid the Sultan in
putting down the Greek rebellion.
April 27, 1825 A new French law compensates nobles for losses during the French Revolution.
April 29, 1825 Johann Nepomuk Hummel (46) gives the fourth of his concerts on his current stay in
Paris.
May 2, 1825 Samuel Wesley (59) is arrested for failure to pay £25 maintenance to his estranged wife.
He will be released on May 7.
May 3, 1825 Le maçon, an opéra comique by Daniel-François-Esprit Auber (43) to words of Scribe and
Delavigne, is performed for the first time, in Théâtre Feydeau, Paris.
May 4, 1825 The opera season opens tonight in Palermo under its new director, Gaetano Donizetti
(27). The orchestra plays so badly that Donizetti is called to account by the Superintendant of Public
Spectacles.
May 6, 1825 Challenged by Luigi Cherubini (64) to compose a Kyrie for chorus, Felix Mendelssohn
(16) produces a Kyrie in d minor.
May 7, 1825 8:00 a.m. Antonio Salieri dies in Vienna, aged 74 years, eight months and 19 days.
May 9, 1825 Der Liedler, a song by Franz Schubert (28) to words of Kenner, is published by Cappi,
Vienna as his op.38.
May 10, 1825 The earthly remains of Antonio Salieri are laid to rest in Matzleinsdorf Cemetery,
Vienna attended by all court musicians and many other musical figures. (not Beethoven (54) who has
moved to Baden for his health)
May 13, 1825 Tsar Alyeksandr I, in Warsaw to open the Polish Diet, hears Fryderyk Chopin (15)
perform on the aeromelodicon. The monarch gives the boy a diamond ring.
King João VI of Portugal concedes the exercise of power in Brazil to his son Pedro.
May 17, 1825 The British House of Lords defeats a Roman Catholic Relief Bill which has passed the
House of Commons. It would have given parliamentary rights to Roman Catholics.
May 21, 1825 Le lapin blanc, an opéra comique by Ferdinand Hérold (34) to words of Mélesville and
Carmouche, is performed for the first time, in the Théâtre Feydeau, Paris.
May 23, 1825 Gaspare Spontini’s (50) zauberoper Alcidor to words of Théaulon de Lambert after
Rochon de Chabannes translated by Herklotz, is performed for the first time, at the Berlin Opera.
Johann Nepomuk Hummel (46) gives his farewell concert to Paris, at the Conservatoire.
May 29, 1825 A Mass in A by Luigi Cherubini (64) is performed for the first time, for the coronation of
King Charles X in Rheims. This is the first coronation of a French king since 1775.
June 2, 1825 Rondo in c minor op.1 becomes the first work of Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin (15) to be
commercially published, courtesy of Brzezina & Co.
June 5, 1825 The two nurses who attended Antonio Salieri (†0) reassert their claim that since the
winter of 1823, at no time did their patient confess to killing Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (†32).
June 6, 1825 Franz Schubert (28) and Johann Vogl reach Gmunden for a stay of six weeks. Here he
will work on the Great C Major symphony.
Three songs by Franz Schubert (28) to words of Goethe are published by Diabelli, Vienna as his op.19:
An Schwager Kronos, An Mignon, and Ganymed.
Kamehameha III, age eleven, becomes King of Hawaii.
June 9, 1825 Suleika II D.717, a song by Franz Schubert (28) to words of Goethe, is performed for the
first time, in the Jagor’schersaal, Berlin. Other Schubert songs are performed, all to great success.
June 10, 1825 Fryderyk Chopin (15) plays at a charity concert in Warsaw where he engages in lengthy
improvisations. A critic for the Leipzig Allgemeine Musikalische Zeitung is present. His review marks
the first time that Chopin’s fame travels outside of Poland.
Pharamond, an opéra by Adrien Boieldieu (49), Berton and Rodolphe Kreutzer to words of Ancelot,
Guiraud and Soumet, is performed for the first time, in the Académie Royale de Musique, Paris. The
work is presented for the coronation of Charles X.
June 13, 1825 President John Quincy Adams is almost drowned while crossing the Potomac in a
canoe. The canoe capsizes in a stiff wind.
June 16, 1825 In Weimar, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe receives two packages from composers. One
includes piano quartets from Felix Mendelssohn (16). The other contains some songs to Goethe poems
from Franz Schubert (28). Goethe will write a long letter of thanks to Mendelssohn. He will not
respond to Schubert. It is the one and only time that Schubert makes a personal approach to Goethe.
June 19, 1825 Il viaggio a Reims, ossia L’albergo del giglio d’oro, a dramma giocoso by Gioachino Rossini
(33) to words of Balocchi after de Staël, is performed for the first time, at the Théâtre-Italien, Paris.
The work is performed during coronation festivities for Charles X who attends but is bored.
June 20, 1825 In his second Birmingham concert, Franz Liszt (13) presents an overture, probably the
overture to his unperformed opera Don Sanche.
June 22, 1825 An Act to Regulate Cotton Mills and Factories is passed by the British Parliament. All
workers under 16 are prohibited from working more than twelve hours per day.
June 30, 1825 Carl Friedrich Zelter oversees the laying of the cornerstone of the new Berlin
Singakademie.
On her second visit to London, Maria Szymanowska (35) gives a concert before the royal family.
July 10, 1825 Messe solennelle by Hector Berlioz (21) is performed for the first time, in the Church of St.
Roch. In spite of the fiasco of December 28, 1824, the work is a great success.
July 15, 1825 Carl Maria von Weber (38) arrives in Bad Ems, near Koblenz, to take the cure. His
tuberculosis continues to get worse.
July 23, 1825 Antonia Bianchi gives birth to a son of Nicolò Paganini (42) in Palermo: Achilles Cyrus
Alexander.
July 25, 1825 Two songs by Franz Schubert (28) are published by Pennauer as his op.43: Die junge
Nonne to words of Craigher, and Nacht und Träume to words of von Collin.
August 1, 1825 At Fort Niagara, New York, US Army doctor William Beaumont begins experiments
on French Canadian Alexis St. Martin on the nature of digestion. St. Martin was shot in the abdomen
in 1822 and the wound never closed. Beaumont is the first person to clinically observe digestion as it
is happening. He will publish his observations in 1833.
August 6, 1825 Bolivia declares itself independent of Peru at a congress in Chuquisaca.
August 10, 1825 Franz Schubert (28) and Johann Vogl reach Salzburg from Steyr.
August 12, 1825 The second setting of Suleika, a song by Franz Schubert (28) to words of Goethe, is
published by Pennauer as his op.31.
August 14, 1825 Gaetano Donizetti’s (27) Cantata for the King’s Birthday is performed for the first time,
in Palermo.
Franz Schubert (28) and Johann Vogl travel from Salzburg to Bad Gastein. Here he will work further
on the Great C Major symphony and compose the Piano Sonata D.850.
August 24, 1825 Die Wiener in Berlin, a liederspiel by Heinrich August Marschner (30) to words of von
Holtei, is performed for the first time, in Dresden.
August 25, 1825 Uruguay declares itself independent of Brazil and is reincorporated into the United
Provinces of the Rio de la Plata.
August 27, 1825 English explorer William Moorcroft dies of fever in Andkhvoy, Afghanistan.
August 29, 1825 Brazil agrees to a proposed treaty between itself and Portugal recognizing the
independence of Brazil.
September 2, 1825 At a dinner party at the residence of Ludwig van Beethoven (54) in Badem, the
composer writes a canon for Friedrich Kuhlau on the BACH theme, Kühl, nicht lau WoO191.
September 8, 1825 Franz Schubert’s (28) Erstes Offertorium D.136 for vocal soloist, clarinet, orchestra
and organ, Zweites Offertorium D.223 for soprano, orchestra and organ, and a setting of Tantum ergo
D.739 for chorus, orchestra and organ, are all performed for the first time, in the Maria-Trost-Kirche,
Vienna.
September 9, 1825 String Quartet op.132 by Ludwig van Beethoven (54) is performed for the first
time, privately, in Vienna.
September 12, 1825 André-Marie Ampère reads his most celebrated work, Memoir on a new
electrodynamic experience, about its application to a formula that gives the mutual action between two Voltaic
conductors and about the new consequences deduced from this formula to the French Royal Academy of
Sciences.
September 19, 1825 After 13 years of direct Habsburg rule, the Hungarian Diet reopens.
September 22, 1825 Giacomo Meyerbeer’s (34) Il Crociato in Egitto opens in Paris to spectacular
success. King Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia arrives in the city today and will see the second
performance. It was the idea of Gioachino Rossini (33) to stage this opera and he invites Meyerbeer to
direct the last rehearsals. This reaffirms their friendship, in existence since 1819. See March 7, 1824.
September 27, 1825 The Stockton and Darlington Railroad opens in Great Britain. This is the first
railroad system to employ steam locomotion. Today, George Stephenson’s locomotive Active pulls 38
cars carrying 450 people from Darlington to Stockton.
October 9, 1825 After seeing Il Crociato in Egitto in Paris, King Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia
formally invites Giacomo Meyerbeer (34) to compose an opera for Berlin. He will decline.
October 10, 1825 Dmitri Stepanovich Bortnyansky dies in St. Petersburg, aged approximately 74
years.
October 13, 1825 King Maximilian I of Bavaria dies in Munich and is succeeded by his son Ludwig I.
A Kyrie in d minor for chorus and orchestra by Felix Mendelssohn (16) is performed for the first time,
in Berlin.
October 15, 1825 Ludwig van Beethoven (54) moves into his last residence, the Schwarzspanierhaus
in Vienna.
October 17, 1825 Don Sanche, ou Le Château d’amour, an opéra by Franz Liszt (13) and his composition
teacher Ferdinando Paer to words of Théaulon and de Rancé after Claris de Florian, is performed for
the first time, at the Paris Opéra. While everyone finds it remarkable that this is the work of a 13-year-
old, the opera ultimately fails. It will be withdrawn after four performances.
October 24, 1825 Pedro Alcantara Alvarez de Toledo y Salm-Salm, Duque de Infantado replaces Luis
María de Salazar y Salazar as First Secretary of State of Spain.
October 25, 1825 Johann Baptist Strauss is born in Vienna, the eldest of six children born to Johann
Strauss, Sr., composer, conductor and violinist, and Maria Anna Streim, daughter of an innkeeper.
This blessing comes less than four months after the couple are married.
October 26, 1825 The first boat, Seneca Chief, leaves Buffalo to traverse the Erie Canal. It is the largest
canal in the world.
November 4, 1825 The first boat to traverse the Erie Canal reaches New York. The Great Lakes are
now connected to the Atlantic.
November 6, 1825 String Quartet op.132 by Ludwig van Beethoven (54) is performed publicly for the
first time, in Vienna.
November 9, 1825 Inventor Thomas Drummond heats a small ball of lime in front of a reflector on
Slieve Snaght, Scotland. It is seen on Divis Mountain 100 km away. This is the first practical
demonstration of limelight.
Gioachino Rossini’s (33) Il Barbiere di Siviglia is staged in Park Theater, New York. It is the first staging
in the United States of an Italian opera in Italian.
November 12, 1825 A few days after receiving the treaty of August 29 from Brazil, King João VI of
Portugal recognizes the independence of Brazil.
November 17, 1825 Der Gondelfahrer D.809, a vocal quartet by Franz Schubert (28) to words of
Mayrhofer, is performed for the first time, in the Vienna Musikverein.
November 18, 1825 The garrison of San Juán de Ulúa, Veracruz surrenders to Mexican forces. They
were the last Spanish troops to resist Mexican independence.
November 19, 1825 Jan Václav Vorísek dies of tuberculosis in Vienna, aged 34 years, six months and
eight days. His earthly remains will be interred in Währing Cemetery (Franz Schubert Park).
November 22, 1825 Die letzten Dinge, an oratorio by Louis Spohr (41) to words of Rochlitz, is
performed for the first time, in Kassel, directed by the composer with piano accompaniment.
November 28, 1825 Giacomo Meyerbeer (34) becomes engaged to his cousin Minna Mosson.
The last royalist opposition to Mexican independence ends when the garrison of San Juán de Ulúa,
Veracruz surrenders. They will be transported to Cuba.
November 29, 1825 Ludwig van Beethoven (54) is elected an honorary member of the Gesellschaft
der Musikfreunde, Vienna.
Il barbiere di Siviglia by Gioachino Rossini (33) becomes the first opera to be sung in Italian in New
York.
December 1, 1825 Tsar Alyeksandr I of Russia, Grand Duke of Finland, King of Poland dies (or so it is
said) in Taganrog and is succeeded by his younger brother, Nikolai.
December 3, 1825 Van Diemen’s Land (Tasmania) is separated from New South Wales.
December 9, 1825 The Times of London announces the failure of Wentworth, Chalmer & Co., an
important financial concern.
December 10, 1825 La dame blanche, an opéra comique by Adrien Boieldieu (49) to words of Scribe
after Scott, is performed for the first time, in the Théâtre Feydeau, Paris. It is very successful.
Brazil declares war on Argentina over Uruguay.
December 12, 1825 Eugenie Franziska Jaeggi Marschner, second wife of Heinrich August Marschner
(30), dies in Dresden of unknown causes.
The London bank of Pole, Thornton, & Co. fails, bringing down 43 country banks.
December 16, 1825 The British cabinet decides to try to find as much gold as possible to back up the
paper currency.
December 17, 1825 About 700 important members of the City of London meet and declare their
confidence in the banking and financial system. This calms most of the immediate panic. But the
crisis creates the first world-wide depression.
Alpheus Babcock of Boston receives a US patent for “the frame, to which the strings of the piano forte
are attached, of cast iron, wrought-iron, brass composition metal, or some other metal, or compound
of metals, suitable for this purpose.”
December 26, 1825 Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka (21) and two friends go to the palace in St. Petersburg to
witness the appearance of the new Tsar at about 11:30 a.m. They stay for a while and then leave to get
something to eat. Not long thereafter, they hear gunfire.
As troops parade in St. Petersburg to take the oath of allegiance to the new Tsar, an organized revolt
takes place in the ranks led by liberal officers opposed to the succession of Nikolai. With the life of the
Tsar apparently in danger, loyal troops fire artillery upon the mutineers. Many soldiers and
bystanders are killed. In the trials which will follow, five leaders will be sentenced to quartering, 31
decapitated and 85 banished to hard labor in Siberia. When footsoldiers who marched before the
palace crying “Konstantin i Konstituta” (in favor of the Tsar’s more liberal brother Konstantin and a
constitution) were asked to explain their actions, they testified that they thought they were honoring
the Tsar’s brother Konstantin and his wife, Konstituta. The mutineers will be beatified by later
Russian revolutionaries as The Decemberists.
December 29, 1825 Jacques-Louis David dies in Brussels at the age of 77.
December 30, 1825 A Kyrie in c minor for solo voices and double chorus by Felix Mendelssohn (16) is
performed for the first time, in Frankfurt.
January 5, 1826 Franz Liszt (14) gives the first of four performances this month at the Grand Théâtre,
Bordeaux.
January 6, 1826 Franz Schubert’s (28) Galop und 8 Ecossaises D.735 for orchestra is performed for the
first time, in the Saal zu den 7. Churfürsten in Pest.
January 7, 1826 Alahor in Granata, a dramma by Gaetano Donizetti (28) is performed for the first time,
in the Teatro Carolino, Palermo.
January 10, 1826 Franz Schubert (28) attends a party at the Vienna home of Franz von Schober.
Eduard von Bauernfeld has invited the poet Johann Gabriel Seidl in an effort to rejoin Schubert with
Seidl. Within a few weeks Schubert will compose the first of eleven songs he will write to Seidl’s
words.
January 12, 1826 Rastlose Liebe D.138, a song by Franz Schubert (28) to words of Goethe, is performed
for the first time, in the Vienna Musikverein.
January 14, 1826 Royalist forces on the island of Chiloé surrender, allowing for the island to be
annexed to Chile.
January 30, 1826 The Menai Bridge opens connecting Anglesey with the mainland of Wales. It is the
largest suspension bridge to date, with a suspended span of 176 meters and a clearance of 30 meters.
February 1, 1826 String Quartet “Tod und das Mädchen” D.810 by Franz Schubert (29) is performed
for the first time, at the home of Josef Barth, Vienna. See March 12, 1833.
February 4, 1826 The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper is published.
February 8, 1826 The second setting of Sehnsucht, a song by Franz Schubert (29) to words of Schiller,
is published by Pennauer as his op.39.
February 12, 1826 Fryderyk Chopin (15) receives a cure for swollen lymph glands: application of
leeches to the neck.
February 16, 1826 Against the advice of his wife and friends, Carl Maria von Weber (39), ill with
tuberculosis, departs Dresden for London to direct the premiere of Oberon. As he leaves, his wife
believes that she will never see him again.
February 17, 1826 Abschied von der Erde D.829, a melodrama for speaker and piano by Franz Schubert
(29) to words of von Pratobevera, is performed for the first time, at the Vienna home of Karl Josef von
Pratobevera.
February 22, 1826 Incidental music to von Uechtritz’s play Alexander und Darius by Heinrich August
Marschner (30) is performed for the first time, in Dresden.
February 24, 1826 The Treaty of Yandabo ends the first war between Great Britain and Burma. The
Burmese are forced to pay an indemnity. Arakan, Tenasserim, Manipur, Assam and the Burmese
coastline are annexed to British India. Pegu is returned to Burma.
February 25, 1826 On the way to London, Carl Maria von Weber (39) arrives in Paris. During his stay
in the city he will meet Luigi Cherubini (65), Daniel-François-Esprit Auber (44), Gioacchino Rossini
(33), Ferdinando Paer and Charles-Simon Catel. Hector Berlioz (22), who idolizes Weber, seeks out
the German but is unable to find him. Rossini, observing Weber’s terrible health, tries to talk him out
of going on to London.
March 2, 1826 Johann Simon Mayr (62) steps down as president of the Ateneo, Bergamo.
March 3, 1826 Carl Maria von Weber (39) suffers a seizure in Calais due to wet weather.
March 4, 1826 Carl Maria von Weber (39) crosses the Channel from Calais to Dover.
March 5, 1826 Carl Maria von Weber (39) reaches London.
March 9, 1826 Rehearsals for Oberon begin at Covent Garden under the direction of the composer,
Carl Maria von Weber (39).
March 10, 1826 King João VI of Portugal dies and is succeeded by his son Emperor Pedro I of Brazil,
who rules Portugal as Pedro IV.
March 15, 1826 Franz Liszt (14) gives the first of two concerts in two days at Nîmes.
March 18, 1826 After a concert in London, Carl Maria von Weber (39) is invited to a supper. He
coughs a considerable amount of blood in the carriage and is carried up the steps.
March 21, 1826 String Quartet op.130 (with the Grosse Fuge) by Ludwig van Beethoven (55) is
performed for the first time, in Vienna. See April 22, 1827.
March 25, 1826 Samuel Sebastian Wesley (15) is appointed organist at St. James’ Chapel, Hampstead
Road, London.
March 26, 1826 Through the agency of Sir George Smart, a Dr. Severin goes to see Carl Maria von
Weber (39) in London. The doctor tells Weber not to worry and prescribes pills and a rabbit skin to be
put on his chest.
A constitution for Brazil is promulgated. It provides for a hereditary monarchy and a bicameral
parliament.
April 1, 1826 Captain Samuel Morey of Orford, New Hampshire receives a patent for an internal
combustion engine.
April 2, 1826 A concert to benefit Valentin Alkan (12) takes place in the Pape showroom, Paris. It is
his debut as pianist and composer.
April 3, 1826 Gioachino Rossini (34) conducts a concert in Paris for the relief of Greek patriots.
April 4, 1826 An agreement is reached between Great Britain, represented by the Duke of Wellington,
and Tsar Nikolai I of Russia. The Protocol of St. Petersburg authorizes Britain to offer mediation
between Greece and the Turks. The goal is to make Greece a “tributary state” of the Ottoman Empire
with a certain degree of autonomy.
April 5, 1826 Publication of the Rondo brillant op.109 for piano by Johann Nepomuk Hummel (47) is
announced in the Wiener Zeitung.
Seven Songs to Words of Scott op.52 by Franz Schubert (29) are published by Artaria.
April 6, 1826 The Philharmonic Society elects Carl Maria von Weber (39) its first honorary member.
Three songs by Franz Schubert (29) are published by Weigl as his op.57: Der Schmetterling and Die
Berge to words of von Schlegel, and the first setting of An den Mond to words of Hölty. Weigl also
publishes thre of Schubert’s songs to words of Schiller has his op.56 (later corrected to op.58): Hektors
Abschied, An Emma and the second setting of Des Mädchens Klage.
Franz Liszt (14) gives the first of six concerts this month in Marseilles.
April 7, 1826 Franz Schubert (29) petitions the Emperor to be appointed Vice-Director of the Imperial
Court Chapel. He will eventually fail.
April 8, 1826 US Secretary of State Henry Clay and Senator John Randolph of Virginia fight a duel
over Randolph’s accusations about Clay’s Latin America policies. Neither is injured.
April 12, 1826 Oberon, a romantic opera by Carl Maria von Weber (39) to words of Planché after
Wieland, is performed for the first time, in Covent Garden, London. As the composer arrives to
conduct the premiere he receives a standing ovation with cheering and waving. The overture and
each number are encored, some twice.
April 22, 1826 Egyptian forces capture Missolonghi (Mesolongian), 200 km west of Athens, after a
long siege.
April 26, 1826 A liberal constitution is promulgated in Portugal providing for a hereditary monarchy
and bicameral cortes.
April 29, 1826 King Pedro IV signs the constitutional charter and announces his intention to abdicate
in favor of his infant daughter Maria da Glória, if she is betrothed to his brother Miguel and Miguel
accepts the new constitution.
A seriously ill Carl Maria von Weber (39) attends the premiere of Bishop’s Alladin at Drury Lane. As
he enters, the house rises. During the “Huntsmen’s Chorus” the audience whistles Weber’s chorus of
the same name.
A farewell concert is given at Boylston Hall, Boston for Anton Philipp Heinrich (45).
May 2, 1826 Emperor Pedro I of Brazil waives his right to the Portuguese throne in favor of his
daughter Maria de Gloria.
The United States recognizes the Peruvian Republic.
May 4, 1826 Confitebor tibi, Domine for solo voices, chorus and orchestra by Samuel Wesley (60) is
performed for the first time, in the Argyll Rooms, London.
May 6, 1826 A building for the Senate of Brazil opens in Rio de Janeiro in the presence of Emperor
Dom Pedro. It will be used for the next 98 years.
May 16, 1826 Maria Szymanowska (36) gives her last concert in London. She will return to Warsaw.
May 17, 1826 Sigismund Thalberg (14) gives his first public performance in London.
May 23, 1826 Franz Liszt (14) gives the first of three concerts in the Salle de Bourse, Lyon.
May 25, 1826 Giacomo Meyerbeer (34) marries his cousin Minna Mosson in Berlin. They immediately
leave for Paris where he will work on a new opera.
Cospaia is divided between Tuscany and the Papal States.
May 26, 1826 Carl Maria von Weber’s (39) song From Chindara’s Warbling Fount I Come J.308 to words
of Moore is performed for the first time, in London. It is his last composition. The composer was too
ill to finish the accompaniment so he improvises it as it is performed. Ignaz Moscheles will later write
down what he remembers of Weber’s interpolation. After the concert, Weber collapses on a sofa. A
mustard plaster will be applied to his chest.
May 30, 1826 Bianca e Gernando, a melodramma by Vincenzo Bellini (24) to words of Gilardoni after
Roti, is performed for the first time, in Teatro San Carlo, Naples. It will later be staged as Bianca e
Fernando.
Carl Maria von Weber (39) makes his last public appearance, at a benefit for Mary Anne Paton, in
London.
June 2, 1826 Le timide, ou Le nouveau séducteur, an opéra comique by Daniel François Esprit Auber (44)
to words of Scribe and Saintine, is performed for the first time, in Théâtre Feydeau, Paris.
June 5, 1826 One day before his planned return home to Dresden, servants in the house of Sir George
Smart, London, call to wake their guest, Carl Maria von Weber. They can not raise him, so the door is
broken in. The composer is found dead in his bed, at the age of 39 years, six months and
approximately 18 days, the victim of the effects of tuberculosis.
June 9, 1826 Giacomo Meyerbeer (34), in Paris, learns of the death of his old friend, Carl Maria von
Weber (†0). Weber’s family will entrust his unfinished Die drei Pintos to Meyerbeer, asking him to
finish it.
June 10, 1826 Two songs by Franz Schubert (29) are published by Cappi and Czerny, Vienna as his
op.60: Greisengesang to words of Rückert, and Dithyrambe to words of Schiller.
June 14, 1826 The government of the United Provinces of Central America grants a canal concession
to the Central American and United States Atlantic and Pacific Canal Company. The deal will fail
next year when the company directors fail to obtain enough backing for the project.
June 16, 1826 The Janissaries, the elite of the Ottoman army, are killed in their barracks by Spahis
(cavalry) on orders of Sultan Mahmud II.
Great Britain recognizes the independence of Mexico.
June 17, 1826 Twelve days after the death of Carl Maria von Weber, Heinrich August Marschner (30)
applies to the King of Saxony for his position. He will not get it.
June 20, 1826 A treaty is signed between Siam and the United Kingdom. Polak and Selangor districts
are declared independent, Kedah is awarded to Siam, the island of Pangkor and the Sembilan Islands
go to Britain.
June 21, 1826 A funeral procession for Carl Maria von Weber winds through London. All important
singers in London offer their services. The composer’s mortal remains are laid to rest in Moorfields
Chapel. See December 14, 1844.
June 22, 1826 A decree by Tsar Nikolai sets up a Supreme Censorship Committee over a nationwide
system of censorship and guidelines for their oversight of literature and the arts.
The first Pan-American Congress meets in Panama called by Simón Bolívar to create a union of
Spanish speaking America. After three weeks of discussions, the congress disbands with little
accomplished.
Adina o Il califfo di Bagdad, a farsa by Gioachino Rossini (34) to words of Bevilacqua-Aldobrandini, is
performed for the first time, in Teatro São Carlos, Lisbon. This is the only premiere of a Rossini opera
at which the composer is not present.
July 3, 1826 Heinrich August Marschner (30) marries his third wife, Marianne Wohlbrück, a well-
known opera singer, in Dresden.
July 4, 1826 About noon. Stephen Collins Foster is born in Lawrenceville (Pittsburgh), Pennsylvania,
the ninth child of William Barclay Foster, a businessman, and Eliza Clayland Tomlinson, daughter of a
fairly well-off farmer.
Giacomo Meyerbeer (34) and Eugène Scribe meet in Paris to discuss Robert le diable for perhaps the
first time.
John Adams and Thomas Jefferson die on the same day, the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of
Independence, Adams in Quincy, Massachusetts at the age of 90, Jefferson at Monticello, near
Charlottesville, Virginia at the age of 83.
July 6, 1826 Gaetano Donizetti’s (28) dramma Elvida to words of Schmidt is performed for the first
time, in Teatro San Carlo, Naples, before a royal gala. It is well received but has since disappeared.
July 9, 1826 The State of Chile is renamed the Republic of Chile.
July 11, 1826 At the Institute in Paris, Hector Berlioz (22) and five others take part in the preliminary
examination of the Prix de Rome, a fugue.
July 12, 1826 The music section of the Institute, which includes François-Joseph Gossec (92), Luigi
Cherubini (65), and Adrien Boieldieu (50), decide that two of the six Prix de Rome candidates should
not continue past the preliminary stage. One of them is Hector Berlioz (22). Based on this result, he
and his teacher, Jean-François Le Sueur, decide that he must enroll in the Paris Conservatoire.
July 14, 1826 Three songs by Franz Schubert (29) are published by Pennauer as his op.56: Willkommen
und Abschied to words of Goethe, and And die Leyer and Im Haine both to words of Bruchmann.
July 15, 1826 A Pan-American Congress meets in Panama in an effort to unite the American republics.
It will end in failure.
July 23, 1825 The singer Antonia Bianchi gives birth to a son of Nicolò Paganini (42) in Palermo:
Achilles Cyrus Alexander. They have been having a personal and professional relationship for two
years.
July 25, 1826 Five of the leading Decemberists are hanged in Moscow. The ropes break on three of
them and they have to be hanged again.
July 27, 1826 Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin (16) achieves a high school diploma, in Warsaw.
July 29, 1826 Publication of the Neue praktische-methodisch geordnete Clavier-Schule für die Jugend by
Carl Czerny (35)is announced in the Wiener Zeitung.
August 1, 1826 Francisco Manuel Trigoso de Aragão Morato replaces José Joaquim de Almeida e
Araújo Correia de Lacerda as Secretary of State (prime minister) of Portugal.
August 3, 1826 Fryderyk Chopin (16) travels to Bad Reinerz in Lower Silesia accompanied by his
sisters Emilia and Ludwika and his mother. They are there for treatment, especially for Emilia, who is
showing symptoms of tuberculosis and is probably contagious. Fryderyk, although ill himself,
possibly contracts the disease from her. They will remain here for five weeks.
August 6, 1826 At the ruins of Rauhenstein near Baden, 19-year-old Karl van Beethoven, nephew and
ward of the composer, shoots twice at his left temple, missing with one shot and inflicting a flesh
wound with the other. He is found by a teamster and, by his own request, is brought to his mother’s
house in Vienna. The young man survives, but his uncle Ludwig (55) is emotionally wounded by the
incident.
August 7, 1826 Vienna police take the wounded Karl van Beethoven from his mother’s house to the
city’s General Hospital, as is customary with suicide attempts. He will remain there until September
25.
August 12, 1826 Marie, an opéra comique by Ferdinand Hérold (35) to words of Planard, is performed
for the first time, in the Théâtre Feydeau, Paris.
August 16, 1826 On his 31st birthday, Heinrich August Marschner begins a leave of absence from his
post as Musikdirektor in Dresden. This is part of his resignation, which takes effect at the end of the
month.
August 13, 1826 Scottish explorer Alexander Gordon Laing becomes the first European to reach
Timbuktu (Mali). He will be killed in September.
August 19, 1826 Manuel González Salmón y Gómez de Torres replaces Pedro Alcantara Alvarez de
Toledo y Salm-Salm, Duque de Infantado as prime minister of Spain.
August 26, 1826 Hector Berlioz (23) enrolls in the composition course of Jean-François Le Sueur at the
Paris Conservatoire.
September 21, 1826 Four songs by Franz Schubert (29) are published by Sauer and Leidesdorf,
Vienna as his op.59: Dass sie hier gewesen, Du bist die Ruh and Lachen und Weinen, all to words of
Rückert, and Du liebst mich nicht, to words of Platen.
September 28, 1826 Russia declares war on Persia over Persian involvement in Transcaucasia.
Ludwig van Beethoven (55), his brother Johann and their nephew Karl travel to Johann’s country
property at Gneixendorf near Krems. The composer is ill.
October 2, 1826 Hector Berlioz (23) enrolls in the course in counterpoint and fugue of Anton Reicha
at the Paris Conservatoire.
October 7, 1826 Under Russian pressure, the Ottoman Empire, in the Convention of Akkerman,
agrees to autonomy for Serbia, Moldavia and Wallachia. Russian ships are granted rights to navigate
Turkish waters, including the Dardanelles.
Lowell Mason (34) speaks at the Hanover Street Church in Boston and outlines his goals for the
singing and teaching of church music.
October 9, 1826 Gioachino Rossini’s (34) tragédie-lyrique Le siège de Corinthe, to words of Balocchi and
Soumet after della Valle, is performed for the first time, in the Paris Opéra. As to the response, Léon
Escudier will write, “The hall...leaped to its feet as one man at the final notes of the chorus and gave
vent to a long shout of admiration.” It is the first Rossini work to be premiered at the Paris Opéra.
October 12, 1826 The Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde grants 100 florins to Franz Schubert (29). He
recently sent them a manuscript to a symphony (which they managed to lose).
October 14, 1826 The French Royal Palace announces that Gioachino Rossini (34) has been created a
chevalier of the Legion of Honor. Rossini, however, declines saying that some worthy Frenchmen (i.e.
Hérold) have not yet received it.
October 17, 1826 Gioachino Rossini (34) is named Premier Compositeur du Roi and Inspecteur
Général du Chant en France by King Charles X. See January 1, 1827.
October 31, 1826 Muzio Clementi’s (74) complete Gradus ad Parnassum appears for the first time,
simultaneously in Paris, Leipzig and London.
November 3, 1826 Johann Nepomuk Hummel (47) is created a chevalier of the Legion of Honor by
King Charles X.
November 12, 1826 Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld and Saxe-Gotha join in personal union. The new Duchy is
called Saxe-Coburg and Gotha under Duke Ernst I. The Duchy of Saxe-Altenberg is restored to
sovereignty by Saxe-Gotha, under Duke Friedrich.
November 17, 1826 Louise Reichardt dies in Hamburg, aged 47 years, seven months and six days.
November 19, 1826 Fanny (21) and Felix Mendelssohn (17) play a four-hand piano version of Felix’s
A Midsummer Night’s Dream overture for Ignaz Moscheles.
November 23, 1826 Franz Schubert’s (29) song Der Einsame D.800 to words of Lappe is performed for
the first time, in the Musikverein, Vienna.
November 24, 1826 Three Songs op.65 by Franz Schubert (29), Lied eines Schiffers an die Dioskuren
D.360 and Heliopolis I D.753, both to words of Mayrhofer, and Der Wanderer D.649 to words of
Schlegel, are published in Vienna.
November 28, 1826 Daniel-François-Esprit Auber’s (44) opéra comique Fiorella to words of Scribe is
performed for the first time, in Théâtre Feydeau, Paris.
December 2, 1826 Ludwig van Beethoven (55) arrives back in Vienna with his nephew Karl from his
brother Johann’s place at Gneixendorf near Krems. They have spent the night in a cold inn and the
composer has become very ill. Upon arrival, a doctor is summoned.
December 5, 1826 Dr. Andreas Wawruch visits Ludwig van Beethoven (55) and diagnoses an
inflammation of the lungs. The doctor will visit the composer daily through December 14.
December 6, 1826 Luis Manuel de Moura Cabral replaces Francisco Manuel Trigoso de Aragão
Morato as Secretary of State (prime minister) of Portugal.
December 12, 1826 Dr. Wawruch is much alarmed by Ludwig van Beethoven’s (55) condition and
orders surgery to remove abdominal fluids.
December 15, 1826 The largest of the Schubertiads takes place in the Vienna home of Josef von
Spaun, at which Johann Vogl sings 30 songs. This night will inspire the famous von Schwind sepia
drawing.
December 16, 1826 Francisco Alexandro Lobo, Bisop de Viseu replaces Luis Manuel de Moura Cabral
as Secretary of State (prime minister) of Portugal.
December 19, 1826 Franz Schubert (29) is on a list of eight finalists for the post of Vice-
Hofkapellmeister to the Imperial Court Chapel. The position is awarded to Josef Weigl, principal
conductor to the court theaters.
December 20, 1826 Ludwig van Beethoven (56) undergoes surgery to remove abdominal fluids, the
first of four such operations.
December 21, 1826 Der Zwerg D.771, a song by Franz Schubert (29) to words of von Collin, is
performed for the first time, in the Musikvereinsaal, Vienna.
200 Anglo settlers seize Nacogdoches, Mexico (Texas) and proclaim the Republic of Fredonia.
Mexican authorities put down the revolt with the help of anglo leaders.
December 28, 1826 Franz Schubert’s (29) song Die junge Nonne D.828 to words of Craigher is
performed publicly for the first time, in the Musikverein, Vienna. See March 3, 1825.
January 1, 1827 A contract is signed by Gioachino Rossini (34) making him Premier Compositeur du
Roi and Inspecteur Général du Chant en France, honorary positions. This will allow him to give up
his duties at the Théâtre-Italien and spend more time composing for the Opéra.
January 2, 1827 Karl van Beethoven, nephew of the composer (56), joins the Austrian army as a cadet
in Field Marshal von Stutterheim’s regiment.
January 5, 1827 An die untergehende Sonne, a song by Franz Schubert (29) to words of Kosegarten, is
published by Diabelli, Vienna as his op.44.
January 7, 1827 Olivo e Pasquale, a melodramma by Gaetano Donizetti (29) to words of Ferretti after
Sografi, is performed for the first time, in the Teatro Valle, Rome. The audience response is frigid.
January 8, 1827 Ludwig van Beethoven (56) undergoes a second operation to remove excess
abdominal fluid.
January 11, 1827 An schwager Kronos D.369, a song by Franz Schubert (29) to words of Goethe, is
performed for the first time, in the Musikvereinsaal, Vienna.
January 15, 1827 Maria Szymanowska (37) performs before 1,200 people in the National Theater,
Warsaw. It is likely that Fryderyk Chopin (16) is in the audience.
January 17, 1827 Lucretia, an opera by Heinrich August Marschner (31) to words of Eckschlager, is
performed for the first time, in the Danzig (Gdansk) Danzigertheater.
January 23, 1827 François-Adrien Boieldieu (51) marries his second wife, Jeanne Philis-Bertin, an
opera singer, in Jarcy. They have been living together for several years. Luigi Cherubini (66) is a
witness.
January 25, 1827 Nachthelle D.892 for tenor, male chorus and piano by Franz Schubert (29) is
performed for the first time, in the Musikvereinsaal, Vienna.
January 27, 1827 Franz Schubert (29) is informed of his failure to secure the post of Vice-
Hofkapellmeister to the Imperial Court Chapel.
January 29, 1827 Astolphe et Joconde, a ballet by Ferdinand Hérold (36) to a scenario by Aumer, is
performed for the first time, in the Paris Opéra.
January 30, 1827 Violin Concerto no.2 by Nicoló Paganini (44) is performed for the first time, in
Teatro San Carlo, Naples, the composer as soloist.
L’artisan, an opéra comique by Fromental Halévy (27) to words of Saint Georges, is performed for the
first time, by the Opéra-Comique, Paris. It is not successful.
February 2, 1827 Ludwig van Beethoven (56) undergoes a third operation to remove excess
abdominal fluid.
A cantata for the birthday of the Duke of Saxe-Weimar by Johann Nepomuk Hummel (48) is
performed for the first time.
February 7, 1827 Maria Szymanowska (37) gives a second concert in the National Theater, Warsaw.
February 8, 1827 Franz Schubert’s (30) Lied des gefangenen Jägers D.843 to words of Scott translated by
Storck is performed for the first time, in the Musikvereinsaal, Vienna.
February 13, 1827 Revue musicale is published for the first time, in Paris.
February 17, 1827 British Prime Minister Robert Jenkinson, Earl of Liverpool is found paralyzed in his
breakfast room, the victim of a stroke. He will never resume his duties.
February 20, 1827 Two works by Felix Mendelssohn (18) are performed for the first time, in Stettin
(Szczecin), conducted by Carl Loewe (30): Concerto in Ab for two pianos and orchestra and the
Overture “A Midsummer Night's Dream.” The composer plays one piano in the concerto, the conductor
the other. His music is a great success but is overshadowed by the second half of the program, the
Symphony no. 9 of Ludwig van Beethoven (56), performed for the first time in northern Germany.
Mendelssohn plays first violin. (The concerto could have been performed earlier, at a family concert
in Berlin.)
Argentine forces rout Brazilians at Ituzaingo, 57 km north of Montevideo, thus ensuring their rule of
Uruguay.
February 27, 1827 Ludwig van Beethoven (56) undergoes a fourth operation to remove abdominal
fluids.
February 28, 1827 The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad is chartered in the State of Maryland.
March 2, 1827 Diabelli and Co., Vienna publishes Franz Schubert’s (30) Mignon songs D.877, to words
of Goethe, as his op.62.
March 8, 1827 A day after arriving in Vienna on a concert tour, Johann Nepomuk Hummel (48) visits
the home of his close friend, Ludwig van Beethoven (56), now on his deathbed.
Two works by Franz Schubert (30) are performed for the first time, in the Musikvereinsaal, Vienna:
Gott in der Natur D.757, a vocal quartet to words of von Kleist, and Normans Gesang D.846, a song to
words of Scott translated by Storck.
March 11, 1827 Maria Szymanowska (37) performs at the City Theater in Riga on her way to St.
Petersburg.
March 13, 1827 Johann Nepomuk Hummel (48) visits Ludwig van Beethoven (56) on his deathbed,
one of four visits by Hummel this month.
March 19, 1827 A group of Viennese music-lovers, including Franz Schubert (30), visit the ailing
Ludwig van Beethoven (56) on his deathbed. For the two composers, who have shared the same city
for the last 30 years, it is their first and only meeting.
March 23, 1827 With great difficulty, Ludwig van Beethoven (56) signs a will. He leaves his entire
estate to his nephew Karl. During the last visit of Johann Nepomuk Hummel (48), Beethoven tells
him that he expects death soon.
March 24, 1827 Ludwig van Beethoven (56) receives the last rites of the Roman Catholic Church. In
the evening he loses consciousness.
March 26, 1827 Late afternoon. Ludwig van Beethoven dies in Vienna, of liver failure caused by
cirrhosis, aged 56 years, three months and ten days, and 49 years to the day after his first public
performance. True to his turbulent life and the disruptive impact he will exert on the tonal art, the
day is marked by a snowfall followed by a thunderstorm at the time of his passing.
Moïse et Pharaon, ou Le passage de la Mer rouge, an opera by Gioachino Rossini (35) to words of Balocchi
and de Jouy after Tottola, is performed for the first time, at the Paris Opéra, to a wildly enthusiastic
reception.
March 27, 1827 An autopsy is conducted on the body of Ludwig van Beethoven by Dr. Johann
Wagner.
March 29, 1827 A large crowd gathers around the Schwarzspanierhaus in Vienna where the body of
Beethoven lies. Among the spectators are many children, as school has been cancelled for the day.
The authorities feel it necessary to call in soldiers to control the large number of people. Inside, nine
priests bless the body and a chorale is sung. At 3:00 p.m. the procession to the church begins. A
military band plays an arrangement of Beethoven’s funeral march from the Piano Sonata op.26. 15-
20,000 people watch the procession take one and a half hours to go a little more than a block to Trinity
Church of the Minorities. Johann Nepomuk Hummel (48), Carl Czerny (36) and Franz Schubert (30)
are among the mourners. A carriage takes the coffin to Währing Cemetary where a funeral oration by
Franz Grillparzer is read by Heinrich Anschütz, and the earthly remains of Ludwig van Beethoven are
laid to rest.
April 3, 1827 A memorial service for Ludwig van Beethoven takes place in the Church of St.
Augustin, Vienna. The Requiem of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (†35) is performed.
Pope Leo XII creates Nicolò Paganini (44) a Knight of the Golden Spur in Rome.
Maria Szymanowska (37) performs at Philharmonic Hall, St. Petersburg before Tsar Nikolai.
April 5, 1827 A second memorial service for Ludwig van Beethoven takes place in St. Charles’
Church, Vienna. The Requiem of Luigi Cherubini (66) is performed.
Vincenzo Bellini (25) departs Naples for Milan and Teatro alla Scala.
Adam and Franz Liszt (15) depart Paris for another trip to Britain.
April 7, 1827 John Walker, a chemist in Stockton-on-Tees, England, sells friction matches for the first
time. He recently invented them by treating sticks with chemicals and letting them dry.
April 8, 1827 Richard Geyer (Wagner) (13) is confirmed in the Kreuzkirche, Dresden.
Adam and Franz Liszt (15) arrive in London.
April 10, 1827 George Canning replaces Robert Banks Jenkinson, Earl of Liverpool, as Prime Minister
of the United Kingdom.
Fryderyk Chopin’s (17) sister Emilia dies of tuberculosis. It is possible that he caught the disease from
her.
April 11, 1827 The Berliner Allgemeine Musikalische Zeitung issue dated today features a black border
on the cover and the simple phrase “Beethoven is dead.”
April 12, 1827 Giacomo Meyerbeer (35) and Eugène Scribe submit the libretto to Robert le diable to the
French censors. It will take four days to pass them.
April 16, 1827 The Octet in F D.803 of Franz Schubert (30) is performed publicly for the first time, in
the Musikvereinsaal, Vienna.
April 22, 1827 String Quartet op.130 by Ludwig van Beethoven (†0) is performed for the first time with
the new ending, in Vienna. See March 21, 1826.
Nachtgesang im Walde D.913 for male vocal quartet and four horns by Franz Schubert (30) is performed
for the first time, in the Musikvereinsaal, Vienna.
April 23, 1827 Undergraduate William Rowan Hamilton presents the Theory of Systems and Rays to
the Royal Irish Academy in Dublin. One of the great works on optics, it presents a single function
unifying mechanics, optics and mathematics and helps establish the wave theory of light.
Publication of the Gradual Quod quod in orbe op.88 and the Offertorium op.89a, both for chorus and
orchestra, by Johann Nepomuk Hummel (48) is announced in the Wiener Zeitung.
April 29, 1827 King Charles X of France dissolves the National Guard.
Die Hochzeit des Camacho, a singspiel by Felix Mendelssohn (18) to words of Klingemann after
Cervantes, is performed for the first time, in the Royal Theater, Berlin. Although the press reaction is
encouraging, the work is not a success and the composer leaves the theater before the final curtain.
He will never write another opera.
Georg Simon Ohm, a physics and mathematics teacher in Cologne, dates the foreword to his book Die
galvanische Kette mathematisch bearbeitet. In it he describes his discovery that the amount of electricity
transmitted through a conductor is directly proportional to the potential difference, and inversely
proportional to the resistance. This is hereafter known as “Ohm’s Law” and is the beginning of
understanding of electrical resistance.
Maria Szymanowska (37) takes part in a performance at the palace of Countess Daria A. Dierzhavina
in St. Petersburg.
May 5, 1827 King Friedrich August I of Saxony dies and is succeeded by his brother Anton.
May 6, 1827 A Turkish (mostly Albanian) force defeats the last Greek army in the field at Phalerum
(Palaion Faliron) near Athens forcing the Greek government to fall and resulting in general chaos.
Im Freien D.880, a song by Franz Schubert (30) to words of Seidl, is performed for the first time, in the
Festsaal of Vienna University.
May 8, 1827 Felix Mendelssohn (18) matriculates at the University of Berlin.
May 11, 1827 Count Viktor Pavlovich Kochubey replaces Prince Pyotr Vasilyevich Lopukhin as
Chairman of the Committee of Ministers of Russia.
May 13, 1827 Gaetano Donizetti’s (29) opera romantica Otto mesi in due ore ossia Gli esiliati in Siberia to
words of Gilardoni after Pixérécourt is performed for the first time, in Teatro Nuovo, Naples.
May 16, 1827 Two songs by Franz Schubert (30) to words of Pyrker are published by Haslinger as his
op.79: Das Heimweh and Die Allmacht.
May 21, 1827 Franz Liszt (15) gives this first concert on this trip to England in the New Argyll Rooms,
London.
May 25, 1827 Five songs by Franz Schubert (30) are published by Haslinger: Der Wanderer an den
Mond, Das Zügenglöcklein and Im Freien, all to words of Seidl, as his op.80, and Alinde and An die Laute,
both to words of Rochlitz, as his op.81.
May 25, 1827 Franz Liszt (15) gives a concert in the New Argyll Rooms, London attended by Muzio
Clementi (75).
May 28, 1827 The first act of Agnes von Hohenstaufen, a lyrisches Drama by Gaspare Spontini (52) to
words of Raupach, is performed for the first time, in the Royal Opera House, Berlin. See June 12, 1829
and December 6, 1837.
June 4, 1827 The first university cricket match takes place at Lord’s. Oxford and Cambridge end in a
tie.
June 5, 1827 Greek defenders of the Acropolis surrender to surrounding Turks.
June 8, 1827 Manuel Francisco de Barros de Sousa da Mesquita de Macedo Leitão e Carvalhosa,
visconde de Santarém replaces Francisco Alexandro Lobo, Bisop de Viseu as Secretary of State (prime
minister) of Portugal.
June 12, 1827 Franz Schubert (30) is elected a full member of the Vienna Gesellschaft der
Musikfreunde.
June 23, 1827 Two song by Franz Schubert (30) are published in the Zeitschrift für Kunst, Vienna: Trost
im Liede D.546 to words of Schober, and the second setting of Wandrers Nachtlied D.756 to words of
Goethe.
July 4, 1827 New York State abolishes slavery.
July 6, 1827 A Treaty for the Pacification of Greece is signed by Great Britain, France and Russia in
London. They promise to aid the Greeks unless Turkey agrees to an armistice.
July 16, 1827 Gioachino Rossini’s (35) Cantata per il battesimo del figlio del banchiere Aguado is performed
for the first time, in the Paris home of A.-M. Aguado.
July 28, 1827 Hector Berlioz (23) and three other Prix de Rome candidates receive their examination
poem, The Death of Orpheus, and are directed to their loges.
The University of Marburg confers an honorary doctorate on Louis Spohr (43).
August 6, 1827 Three songs by Franz Schubert (30) are published by Pennauer as his op.84 (later
corrected to op.87): Der Unglückliche to words of Pichler, the second setting of Hoffnung and the third
setting of Der Jüngling am Bache, both to words of Schiller.
A treaty between the United States and Great Britain stipulates a joint occupation of the Oregon
territory.
August 8, 1827 British Prime Minister George Canning dies at his house in Chiswick.
August 11, 1827 Ständchen D.920 for alto, female chorus and piano by Franz Schubert (30) to words of
Grillparzer is performed for the first time, at the home of Louise Gosmar in Döbling. Schubert was
invited to attend but has forgotten about it.
August 12, 1827 William Blake dies in London, aged 69.
August 19, 1827 Il borgomastro di Saardam, a melodramma giocoso by Gaetano Donizetti (29) to words
of Gilardoni after Mélesville, Merle and Boirie, is performed for the first time, in Teatro Nuovo,
Naples. The audience is enthusiastic.
August 25, 1827 During the performance of Hector Berlioz’ (23) Prix de Rome cantata entry on The
Death of Orpheus, the accompanist, Rifaud, breaks down and the music has to be abandoned. The jury
decides that the work is unplayable and the matter is closed. In the awarding of prizes, it is not even
mentioned.
August 28, 1827 While Franz Liszt (15) and his father are in Boulogne for the sea baths, the elder man
dies suddenly of typhoid fever. Liszt agrees to pay all his debts and begins life on his own.
August 31, 1827 Frederick John Robinson, Viscount Goderich becomes Prime Minister the United
Kingdom, replacing George Canning who died September 8.
September 2, 1827 Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka (23) and three others organize a serenade on the Little
Chernaya River, St. Petersburg. Situated on a launch in the river, Glinka directs a chorus and
accompanies them on piano. Military musicians play from the launch and in the breaks, fireworks go
off from another launch. Crowds of people line the banks for the performance from nine till midnight.
September 3, 1827 Having moved back to Boston from Savannah last month, Lowell Mason (35) is
elected president of the Boston Handel and Haydn Society.
September 4, 1827 Franz Schubert (30) and Johann Baptist Jenger arrive in Graz from Vienna.
September 7, 1827 Tsar Nikolai I decrees that Jews are now liable for military service but at a higher
rate than Gentiles.
Principe Miguel de Bragança becomes “Governor of the Kingdom” replacing Manuel Francisco de
Barros de Sousa da Mesquita de Macedo Leitão e Carvalhosa, visconde de Santarém as head of
government of Portugal.
September 8, 1827 Egyptian ships land troops at Navarino to help put down the rebellion in Greece.
A big charity concert in honor of Franz Schubert (30) takes place in the Landständisches-Theater,
Graz, organized by the Styrian Musical Society, of which he is an honorary member. The proceeds go
to help recent flood victims.
September 11, 1827 On his first trip to see a production of Shakespeare, Hector Berlioz (23) first lays
eyes on Harriet Smithson, playing Ophelia in Hamlet at the Théâtre de l’Odéon. The composer later
remembers that this is the beginning of “the supreme drama of my life...The impression made on my
heart and mind by her extraordinary talent, nay her dramatic genius, was equalled only by the havoc
wrought in me by the poet she so nobly interpreted.” As for Ms. Smithson, it is her first performance
in France. She is an overnight sensation.
Clara Wieck (7) plays a concerto for the first time in public, at an orchestral rehearsal before a small
invited audience in Leipzig. She plays a concerto by Mozart (†35) in E flat.
September 12, 1827 Three Italian Songs for bass voice by Franz Schubert (30) to words of Metastasio
are published by Haslinger as his op.83.
September 19, 1827 Ferdinand Hérold’s (36) ballet La somnambule to a scenario by Scribe and Aumer
is performed for the first time, at the Paris Opéra.
September 20, 1827 Music publisher Carl Friedrich Peters dies in Sonnenstein at the age of 48. He
leaves his firm to his daughter Anna, who is only eleven years old. See October 29, 1828.
September 22, 1827 22-year-old Joseph Smith announces that he has received golden plates from an
angel from which he will translate the Book of Mormon.
September 24, 1827 Franz Schubert (30) and Johann Baptist Jenger arrive back in Vienna from Graz.
September 25, 1827 Der blinde Knabe D.833, a song by Franz Schubert (30) to words of Cibber
translated by Craigher, is published in the Zeitschrift für Kunst, Vienna.
September 29, 1827 Great Britain and the United States agree to submit their boundary question to
arbitration.
October 1, 1827 Russian troops occupy Yerevan.
October 13, 1827 Pietro von Abano, a romantic opera by Louis Spohr (43) to words of Pfeiffer after
Tieck, is performed for the first time, in the Kassel Hoftheater.
October 20, 1827 A naval force consisting of British, French and Russian ships destroys a Turkish-
Egyptian fleet in Navarino Bay. The Moslems lose 60 of their 89 ships, all others being damaged, and
the lives of over 8,000 sailors. The Europeans lose 178 men and all their ships survive.
October 27, 1827 Il pirata, a melodramma by Vincenzo Bellini (25) to words of Romani after Taylor, is
performed for the first time, in Teatro alla Scala, Milan. It is an immediate hit. He decides to stay in
Milan.
October 28, 1827 Lowell Mason (35) conducts a performance of the Boston Handel and Haydn Society
for the first time.
November 3, 1827 Le roi et le batelier, an opéra comique by Fromental Halévy (28) and Rifaut to words
of Saint-Georges, is performed for the first time, by the Opéra-Comique, Paris. It receives only 13
performances.
November 9, 1827 Nicolò Paganini (45) performs at Teatro del Falcone, Genoa before the king and
queen.
November 15, 1827 Creek Indians cede all of their remaining territory in Georgia to the United States.
November 21, 1827 Gaetano Donizetti’s (29) farsa Le convenienze teatrali to the composer’s words after
Sografi is performed for the first time, in Teatro Nuovo, Naples to good success.
November 22, 1827 Maria Szymanowska (37) meets the poet Adam Mickiewicz in St. Petersburg. She
will set four of his poems to music. After her death, Mickiewicz will marry her daughter Celina.
Hector Berlioz (23) conducts in public for the first time in a performance of his 1825 mass in St.
Eustache, Paris.
December 6, 1827 Franz Schubert’s (30) song Der Kampf D.594 to words of Schiller is performed for
the first time, in the Musikvereinsaal, Vienna.
December 12, 1827 Four songs by Franz Schubert (30) are published by Weigl as his op.88: Abendlied
für die Entfernte to words of von Schlegel, Thekla: eine Geisterstimme to words of Schiller, An die Musik
to words of Schober, and Um Mitternacht to words of Schulze.
December 17, 1827 Publication of the Fortsetzung des periodischen Werkes: Die Kunst des Fingrsatzes,
books 21&22 by Carl Czerny (36) is announced in the Wiener Zeitung.
A dinner and performance in honor of Muzio Clementi (75) takes place at the Albion Hotel, London.
All of musical London is there as well as many publishers and businessmen.
December 24, 1827 A document is registered in the name of Nicolò Paganini (45) in which he agrees
to pay an annuity to Antonia Bianchi, the mother of his son.
A Kindersymphonie by Felix Mendelssohn (18) for his sister Rebecka is performed for the first time, in
Berlin.
December 26, 1827 A Piano Trio, either D.898 or D.929, by Franz Schubert (30) is performed for the
first time, in Vienna.
January 1, 1828 L’esule di Roma ossia Il proscritto, a melodramma eroico by Gaetano Donizetti (30) to
words of Gilardoni after Marchionni, is performed for the first time, in Teatro San Carlo, Naples. The
audience grants it an enthusiastic reception.
January 3, 1828 Franz Schubert’s (30) vocal quintet Mondenschein D.875 to words of Schober is
performed for the first time, in the Musikvereinsaal, Vienna.
January 4, 1828 Jean Baptiste Silvère Gaye, Vicomte de Martignac replaces Jean Baptiste Séraphin
Joseph, comte de Villèle as prime minister of France.
January 8, 1828 On the verge of being impeached, British Prime Minister Viscount Goderich presents
his resignation to King George IV, then bursts into tears.
January 10, 1828 Gute Nacht, the first in Franz Schubert’s (30) song cycle Die Winterreise D.911 to
words of Müller, is performed for the first time, in the Musikvereinsaal, Vienna.
January 12, 1828 A treaty between the United States and Mexico sets their boundary at the Sabine
River.
January 14, 1828 The first part of Franz Schubert’s (30) Die Winterreise D.911 is published by
Haslinger.
January 18, 1828 Bavaria and Württemberg enter into a customs union.
January 20, 1828 The Fantasy in C D.934 for violin and piano by Franz Schubert (30) is performed for
the first time, in the County Hall, Vienna. The response is mixed and, programmed at the end of a
long noon concert, many in the audience have left.
January 21, 1828 Richard Geyer enters Leipzig Nicolaischule under the name Richard Wagner (14),
the name of his genetic father.
January 22, 1828 Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington replaces Frederick John Robinson, Viscount
Goderich as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
January 24, 1828 Franz Schubert’s (30) Ständchen D.921 for alto, female chorus and piano to words of
Grillparzer is performed publicly for the first time, in the Musikvereinsaal, Vienna. See August 11,
1827.
January 25, 1828 Robert Schumann (17) plays the last of several performances at the Gymnasium in
Zwickau. Today it is a d minor piano concerto by Friedrich Kalkbrenner (42).
January 28, 1828 A three-member commission in Naples appointed by King Francesco I refuses to
allow the performance of a mass by Vincenzo Bellini (26) because it is composed in a “theatrical
manner.”
At the last Schubertiad in the Spaun house, a party to celebrate Josef von Spaun’s engagement, the
Piano Trio D.929 by Franz Schubert (30) is performed, possibly for the first time. See December 26,
1827.
January 31, 1828 Franz Schubert’s song Ellens Gesang III D.839 to words of Scott translated by Storck
is performed for the first time, in the Vienna Musikvereinsaal on the composer’s 31st birthday.
February 1, 1828 Ali, Pascha von Janina, oder Die Franzosen in Albanien, an Oper by Albert Lortzing (26)
to his own words, is performed for the first time, in Münster.
February 2, 1828 Romanze des Richard Löwenherz D.907, a song by Franz Schubert (31) to words of Scott
translated by Müller, is performed for the first time, in the Landhaussaal, Vienna.
February 7, 1828 The Leonore Overture no.1 by Ludwig van Beethoven (†0), apparently intended for a
Prague production of Fidelio, is performed for the first time, only having come to light after the
composer’s death.
February 14, 1828 The first of several customs treaties in the German Confederation is signed
between Prussia and Hesse-Darmstadt, providing the basis for greater German unity.
February 15, 1828 The Société des Concerts (Conservatoire concerts) is created by a decree of the
French government. Luigi Cherubini (67) is named president of the society.
February 21, 1828 A printing press arrives at the headquarters of the Cherokee council in Echota,
Georgia. Publication begins of the Cherokee Phoenix, the first Indian newspaper in North America.
February 22, 1828 The Treaty of Turkmantchai ends war between Russia and Persia and solidifies the
Russian conquest of Persian Armenia. Russia annexes Nakhichevan.
Dom Miguel, brother of King Pedro IV of Portugal, arrives in the country after exile in Vienna. The
King, in Brazil, has asked him to become his “lieutenant-general” in Portugal.
German biochemist Friedrich Wöhler reports to chemical authority Jakob Berzelius his synthesis of
urea. It is the first time humans artificially create a compound naturally produced by living creatures.
February 25, 1828 Muzio Clementi (76) gives his last public performance, playing the piano at a
concert of the Philharmonic Society, London.
February 26, 1828 Dom Miguel becomes regent of Portugal. Nuno Caetano Alvares Pereira de Melo,
duque de Cadaval replaces him as Prime Minister at the head of an absolutist government.
February 28, 1828 Fryderyk Chopin’s (17) Rondo à la Mazur is published by Andrea Brzezina, Warsaw
as op.5.
The first issue of the Cherokee Phoenix is published in the Cherokee Republic in the present State of
Georgia.
February 29, 1828 La muette de Portici, an opéra by Daniel-François-Esprit Auber (46) to words of
Scribe and Delavigne, is performed for the first time, at the Paris Opéra. It is a great success with the
public.
March 3, 1828 King Pedro IV of Portugal (Emperor Pedro I of Brazil) abdicates his Portuguese throne
and is succeeded by nine-year-old Maria II.
March 9, 1828 The first performance of the new Société des Concerts du Conservatoire takes place at
the Paris Conservatory. The group has been formed to promote modern symphonic music,
particularly Beethoven (†0). This day marks the first performance of the “Eroica” Symphony in
France. It is these performances this Spring which will introduce Hector Berlioz (24) to Beethoven, to
the expressive power of his music, and solidify for him the symphony as a dramatic form, capable of
extra-musical associations
March 14, 1828 Three songs by Franz Schubert (31) to words of Scott are published by Diabelli,
Vienna: Lied der Anne Lyle and Gesang der Norna as his op.85 and Romanze des Richard Löwenherz as his
op.86.
March 15, 1828 Robert Schumann (17) receives a diploma “with honor” from Zwickau Gymnasium.
March 16, 1828 Nicolò Paganini (45) arrives in Vienna from Italy for his first concertizing in the city.
March 23, 1828 String Quartet op.135 by Ludwig van Beethoven (†0) is performed for the first time, in
the Musikvereinsaal, Vienna.
March 24, 1828 Incidental music to the play Die Hochfeurer, oder Die Veteranen by Albert Lortzing (26)
is performed for the first time, in Münster.
March 26, 1828 The first concert consisting entirely of the works of Franz Schubert (31) takes place in
Vienna. Originally planned for March 21 it is changed to coincide with the first anniversary of
Beethoven’s death. Songs performed for the first time are Auf dem Strom D.943 to words of Rellstab,
Fischerweise D.881 to words of Schlecht, Der Kreuzzug D.932 to words of Leitner and Die Sterne also to
words of Leitner. Other premieres include the Schlachtlied D.912 for double male chorus to words of
Klopstock and the first movement of the String Quartet D.887. See December 8, 1850.
March 29, 1828 According to his mother’s wishes, and against his own, Robert Schumann (17)
matriculates in law at the University of Leipzig.
Nicolò Paganini (45) makes his Viennese debut at the Redoutensaal. This first concert is not well
attended, but word-of-mouth accounts of his wizardry soon attract the multitude. The Wiener
Theaterzeitung says “His expression seemed to mirror an inner conflict; the most unspeakable pain, the
most ardent longin, the cruelest jest, even the most cutting scorn became discernible...” He will end
up giving 14 concerts in the city over the next four months.
Der Vampyr, a grosse romantishce Oper by Heinrich August Marschner (32) to words of Wohlbrück
after Nodier, Carmouche, de Jouffroy, Planché, and Ritter, is performed for the first time, in Leipzig
Stadttheater.
March 31, 1828 Tonight marks the probable first meeting of Robert Schumann (17) and the Wieck
family, at a musical evening at the home of Dr. Ernst August Carus in Leipzig. Clara Wieck (8) plays
the piano. Schumann asks her father for piano lessons.
April 7, 1828 Gaetano Donizetti’s (30) Inno reale to words of Romani is performed for the first time,
for the inauguration of Teatro Carlo Felice, Genoa. The first production in the new theater is the
premiere of Bianca e Fernando (second version), a melodramma by Vincenzo Bellini (26) also to words
of Romani after Gilardoni after Roti. See May 30, 1826.
April 10, 1828 Incidental music to Ozaneaux’ play Le dernier jour de Missolonghi by Ferdinand Hérold
(37) is performed for the first time, in the Théâtre de l’Odéon, Paris.
April 14, 1828 After 22 years of preparation, Noah Webster’s American Dictionary of the English
Language is published. 12,000 new words, “Americanisms”, are introduced.
April 18, 1828 Grosse Festmusik zum Dürerfest, a cantata for solo voices, chorus and orchestra by Felix
Mendelssohn (19) is performed for the first time, in Berlin to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the
death of Albrecht Dürer.
April 20, 1828 French explorer René-Auguste Caillié becomes the second European to reach
Timbuktu. But unlike his predecessor, Scottish explorer Alexander Gordon Laing, Caillié will live to
tell the tale.
Nicolò Paganini (45) performs before the Empress of Austria and her children in the Redoutensaal,
Vienna.
April 22, 1828 A month after she moved to the city, Maria Szymanowska (38) performs at the palace
of Count Kushelev-Bezbrodka in St. Petersburg.
April 26, 1828 Russia declares war on Turkey in support of Greek independence.
May 7, 1828 Russian armies, led by Tsar Nikolai I, cross the River Pruth (Prut) into Ottoman territory.
May 8, 1828 Robert Schumann (17) and fellow law student Gisbert Rosen, present themselves to
Heinrich Heine in Munich. Contrary to their fears, they find him to be charming and spend several
hours traversing the city.
May 9, 1828 The British Test and Corporation Act is repealed. Roman Catholics and Protestant non-
conformists are now allowed to hold public office.
May 10, 1828 Franz Schubert (31) and Franz Lachner perform Schubert’s Great Fantasia D.940 in f
minor for piano-four hands, for Eduard Bauernfeld, in Vienna.
May 11, 1828 Capriccio on “Là ci darem la mano” from Mozart’s Don Giovanni by Nicolò Paganini (45) is
performed by the composer in Vienna.
May 12, 1828 Gaetano Donizetti’s (30) melodramma Alina, regina di Golconda to words of Romani after
Sedaine is performed for the first time, in Teatro Carlo Felice, Genoa.
May 18, 1828 The garrison of Oporto declares allegiance to King Pedro, Maria de Glória and the
constitution. Others will follow.
May 19, 1828 US President John Quincy Adams signs the Tariff of 1828 to protect northern industry
from European goods. Widely despised in the southern states, it is called the Tariff of Abomination.
May 23, 1828 The Emperor of Austria confers on Nicolò Paganini (45) the title of Kammervirtuoso in
Vienna.
Several music publishers are brought together in Leipzig by Friedrich Hofmeister to form the Verein
der Musikverleger gegen musikalischen Nachdruck.
May 26, 1828 After much politicking and despite the opposition of Luigi Cherubini (67), Hector
Berlioz (24) mounts the first concert in his career of concert-giving, at the Paris Conservatory.
Included on the program are first performances of his La révolution grecque, scène héroïque for vocal
soloists, chorus and orchestra to words of Ferrand, the Waverly Overture, Marche religieuse des mages
and the overture to the opera Les francs-juges. The audience is not large, mostly musical luminaries
and personal friends of Berlioz. The performance is mostly good, with some flaws. Although he loses
money, the critics are generally pleased and Berlioz makes a name for himself.
May 27, 1828 Robert Schumann (17) describes in his diary his first bout with mental illness. “I was
agitated, but I don’t know by what. It seems to me that I will go mad one day.” He goes on to
describe an anxiety attack.
May 29, 1828 Robert Schumann (17) once again describes an episode of mental illness. “But on the
way back to Leipzig I seemed to be losing my mind: I did have my mind, yet I thought I had lost it. I
had actually gone mad.”
May 30, 1828 Two songs by Franz Schubert (31) to words of Schulze are published by Kienreich in
Graz as op.90 (later corrected to op.93): Im Walde and Auf der Brücke.
June 1, 1828 Gaetano Donizetti (30) marries Virginia Vasselli in the church of Santa Maria a Via. She
is the daughter of a respected Vatican lawyer.
June 4, 1828 A Fugue in e minor D.952 by Franz Schubert (31) for organ or piano duet is performed
for the first time, in the Cistercian Abbey Heiligenkreuz near Baden, by the composer and Franz
Lachner, in the presence of several monks.
June 13, 1828 Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka (24) leaves his civil service post in the office of the Council of
Communications. He will travel to Italy for three years in an attempt to restore his health.
June 14, 1828 Carl Friedrich replaces Carl August as Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach.
June 16, 1828 King Charles X of France, at the urging of Prime Minister Jean Baptiste Silvère Gaye,
Vicomte de Martignac, signs ordinances attacking the Jesuits. All religious teachers must be approved
by the state.
In spite of offers from Turin, Venice and Naples, Vincenzo Bellini (26) signs a contract with Teatro alla
Scala, Milan to produce an opera next Carnival.
June 19, 1828 Russian forces capture Braila on the west bank of the Danube, 175 km northeast of
Bucharest.
June 24, 1828 Anapa, on the Black Sea 300 km east of Sevastopol, falls to Russian land and naval
forces.
June 25, 1828 Franz Schubert’s (31) Die Winterreise D.911 is performed in Berlin to derisive reviews.
June 27, 1828 Maestoso Sonata Sentimentale by Nicolò Paganini (45) is performed for the first time, in
Vienna.
July 2, 1828 Lydie, a ballet by Ferdinand Hérold (37) to a scenario by Aumer, is performed for the first
time, in the Paris Opéra.
July 3, 1828 The father of Clara Wieck (8), Friedrich Wieck, marries for a second time, to Clementine
Fechner.
July 4, 1828 The Baltimore and Ohio, the first public railroad in the United States, begins construction
west from Baltimore.
July 5, 1828 Russian troops capture Kars, 190 km southwest of Tiflis (Tbilisi) from the Turks.
Hector Berlioz (24) and three other candidates receive their poem for the Prix de Rome competition
and are directed to their loges. It is an excerpt from Tasso.
July 7, 1828 Supported by absolutists, Dom Miguel, regent for the nine-year-old Queen Maria II,
crowns himself King of Portugal. Civil unrest begins between absolutists (Dom Miguel) and liberals
(Pedro IV of Brazil for his daughter Maria II).
July 10, 1828 The City of Vienna confers on Nicolò Paganini (45) the Medal of St. Salvator.
July 11, 1828 The traditional (rather than elected) Portuguese Cortes having named him the legal heir
of King João VI, Dom Miguel is crowned King of Portugal, in opposition to his brother, King Pedro IV.
The constitutional charter is declared invalid.
Franz Schubert’s (31) Moments musicaux D.780 are published as op.94 by Leidesdorf. Also published
are three of Schubert’s songs to words of Goethe, as op.87 (later corrected to op.92): Der Musensohn,
Auf dem See, and Geistes-Gruss.
July 24, 1828 Violin Concerto no.3 by Nicolò Paganini (45) is performed for the first time, in the
Vienna Redoutensaal, the composer as soloist.
July 28, 1828 Hector Berlioz (24) turns in his Prix de Rome entry, the cantata Herminie.
Nicolò Paganini (45) offers to give his mistress, Antonia Bianchi, 2,000 scudi if she will leave him and
give him custody of their three-year-old son.
August 2, 1828 Gianni di Calais, a melodramma semiseria by Gaetano Donizetti (30) to words of
Gilardoni after d’Arlincourt, is performed for the first time, in Teatro del Fondo, Naples to a warm
reception by the audience.
Hector Berlioz (24) receives the second Prix de Rome for his setting of the cantata Herminie.
August 4, 1828 A magistrate’s court awards custody of Achilles Paganini to his father, Nicolò (45).
August 7, 1828 Russian forces capture Akhalkalaki from the Turks.
August 9, 1828 An agreement between Great Britain, France and Egypt provides for the withdrawal
of Egyptian forces from Greece.
August 12, 1828 French explorer René-Auguste Caillié reaches Fez, Morocco, having crossed the
Sahara from Timbuktu. As the first European to reach Timbuktu and return alive, Caillié will win a
prize of 10,000 francs from the Société de Géographie.
August 13, 1828 After a triumphant 14 concerts in Vienna, Nicolò Paganini (45) departs Vienna on a
tour of 30 cities over the next 29 months. He will travel as far east as Warsaw and as far west as
Strassbourg.
August 13, 1828 Vier Refrainlieder by Franz Schubert (31) to words of Seidl are published by Weigl as
op.95.
August 16, 1828 Publication of Aneiferung zur musikalischen Bildung der Jugend...als unmittelbare
Fortsetzung jeder Clavierschuleop.163 by Carl Czerny (37) is announced in the Wiener Zeitung.
August 20, 1828 Le Comte Ory, an opera by Gioachino Rossini (36) to words of Scribe and Delestre-
Poirson, is performed for the first time, at the Paris Opéra.
August 24, 1848 The western part of New Guinea is claimed for the Netherlands.
August 27, 1828 As terms of peace between Argentina and Brazil, Uruguay is declared independent.
August 28, 1828 Russian troops capture Akhaltzikhe, 150 km west of Tiflis (Tbilisi), from the Turks.
September 1, 1828 On advice of the court physician, Dr. Ernst Rinna, Franz Schubert (31) moves in
with his brother on Kettenbrückengasse 6 in the Vienna suburb of Neue Wieden.
September 2, 1828 Glaube, Hoffnung und Liebe D.954 for mixed voices by Franz Schubert (31) is
performed for the first time, at the dedication of the recast bell at the Church of the Holy Trinity,
Alsergrund.
September 8, 1828 Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage, an overture by Felix Mendelssohn (19), is
performed for the first time, in Berlin.
September 9, 1828 Fryderyk Chopin (18) boards a stagecoach in Warsaw to accompany a friend of his
father on a trip to Berlin.
September 11, 1828 A court in Carlsbad orders Nicolò Paganini (45) to pay 150 florins to Antonio
Caccia. Paganini hired Caccia as a secretary at the beginning of July but after an unremunerative
concert on August 22 he sacked Caccia, in breach of contract.
September 16, 1828 Im Frühling D.882, a song by Franz Schubert (31) to words of Schulze, is
published in the Zeitschrift für Kunst, Vienna.
September 18, 1828 Felix Mendelssohn’s (19) cantata Begrüssung for solo voices, male chorus, winds,
timpani, cellos and basses to words of Rellstab is performed for the first time, in Berlin. It was
commissioned by Alexander von Humboldt for a meeting of natural scientists.
September 22, 1828 After a 12-year-reign, Shaka, ruler of the Zulus, who has become increasingly
unstable, is murdered by his half-brothers.
September 27, 1828 Hector Berlioz (24) leaves his family home in La Côte-St.-André to return to Paris.
For the first time, there is no anger or tears from anyone. He is the winner of the second Prix de
Rome.
October 6, 1828 Franz Schubert’s (31) song Glaube, Hoffnung und Liebe to words of Kuffner is
published by Diabelli, Vienna as op.97.
October 10, 1828 Nicolò Paganini (45) undergoes an operation for an ulcerated tooth in Prague. The
procedure results in severe inflammation of his lower jaw.
October 12, 1828 After a three month siege, Varna, 260 km north of Constantinople, falls to the
Russians.
October 20, 1828 Clara Wieck (9) performs at the Leipzig Gewandhaus for the first time, playing one
part in a piano duet by Kalkbrenner (42).
October 23, 1828 Le Corsaire publishes an obituary for Franz Liszt, claiming that he died yesterday on
his 17th birthday. He has lately been so despondent over a failed love affair, that the rumor of his
death spreads easily through Paris.
The Christiania (Oslo) Public Theater gives its first performance. It will concentrate on opera and
singspiels.
October 26, 1828 Izzet Mehmet Pasha replaces Benderli Selim Sirri Pasha as Grand Vizier of the
Ottoman Empire.
October 29, 1828 C.F. Peters music publishing house is sold to the tobacco manufacturer Carl Gotthelf
Siegmund Böhme. See September 20, 1827.
October 31, 1828 In the first sign that he is gravely ill, Franz Schubert (31) is nauseated by fish he is
served at a tavern. From this point until his death he will eat almost nothing.
November 3, 1828 Ferdinand Hérold (37) is created a Chevalier of the Legion of Honor.
November 4, 1828 Franz Schubert (31) takes his first lesson in a projected course in fugue with the
noted theorist, Simon Sechter.
In a second operation on Nicolò Paganini (46) in Prague to treat an ulcerated tooth and correct the
results of the first operation, all of his lower teeth are removed.
November 11, 1828 Franz Schubert (31) takes to his bed in his brother’s small apartment.
November 12, 1828 Franz Schubert (31) writes a letter to Franz von Schober telling him that he is so
sick that has eaten nothing for eleven days. He requests more novels by James Fennimore Cooper.
November 14, 1828 Now too sick to be attended only by his half-sister, Franz Schubert’s (31) family
engages the services of a full-time nurse.
November 15, 1828 Albert Lortzing’s (27) oratorio Die Himmelfahrt Jesu Christi to words of Rosenthal
is performed for the first time, in Münster.
November 16, 1828 In the London Protocol, France, Great Britain and Russia guarantee the
Peloponnesus and Cyclades Islands, effectively recognizing the independence of Greece.
Dr. Josef von Vering, a recognized expert on the treatment of syphilis, is called to visit Franz Schubert
(31).
November 17, 1828 Ferdinand Hérold’s (37) ballet La fille mal gardée to a scenario by d’Auberval and
Aumer is performed for the first time, at the Paris Opéra.
Evening. Franz Schubert (31), on his deathbed since November 11, becomes delirious and will remain
so throughout tomorrow.
November 19, 1828 3:00 p.m. Franz Peter Schubert dies in his brother’s Vienna apartment, aged 31
years, nine months and 19 days. Although he suffered from syphilis, the immediate cause of death is
still unknown.
November 20, 1828 Dithyrambe D.801, a song by Franz Schubert (†0) to words of Schiller, is
performed for the first time, in the Musikvereinsaal, Vienna.
November 21, 1828 A funeral service for Franz Peter Schubert takes place in the Church of St. Joseph,
Margereten in the presence of family and some friends. Franz von Schober gives the oration. Johann
Baptist Gänsbacher, director of music at St. Stephen’s, leads the small church choir and some wind
instrumentalists in some of his own music, along with one of Schubert. On a dark, rainy day, the
mortal remains of Franz Schubert are laid to rest in Währing Cemetery, Vienna near those of
Beethoven (†1).
November 22, 1828 The managers of Covent Garden Theater, London announce that they are going
to remove the gas lights which were installed in 1817 and replace them with candles. The odor is too
much for the patrons.
November 27, 1828 A requiem mass in memory of Franz Schubert takes place in St. Ulrich’s Church,
Vienna. The Requiem of Mozart (†36) is performed.
Widerspruch D.865, a vocal quartet by Franz Schubert (†0) to words of Seidl, is performed for the first
time, in the Musikvereinsaal, Vienna.
December 1, 1828 Robert Schumann (18) confides to his diary, “Schubert is dead--dismay.” His
University of Leipzig roomate hears “him sobbing the whole night long.”
December 8, 1828 In a letter to Carl Klingemann, Fanny Mendelssohn (23) first uses the phrase
“songs without words.”
December 9, 1828 Clari, an opera semiseria by Fromental Halévy (29) to words of Giannone, is
performed for the first time, at the Théâtre-Italien, Paris. It is his least successful opera so far.
December 14, 1828 Franz Schubert’s (†0) Symphony no.6 D.589 is performed publicly for the first
time, in the Vienna Redoutensaal.
December 23, 1828 A well-attended memorial service for Franz Schubert takes place in the
Augustinerkirche. This is followed by a Schubert concert at the home of Joseph von Spaun. Johann
Micheal Vogl sings some of the composer’s last, unperformed works, including Die Brieftaube and Der
Doppelgänger.
December 24, 1828 A second Kindersymphonie by Felix Mendelssohn (19) is performed for the first
time, in Berlin.
December 25, 1828 Publication of the Lyrical Album for 1829 edited by Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka (24)
and Nikolai Ivanovich Pavlishchev, is advertised in the Journal de St. Pétersbourg. It is a collection of
music, some of it by Glinka.
December 28, 1828 An earthquake in Echigo, Japan kills 30,000 people.
December 30, 1828 The Swan River Settlement is created by Britain in western Australia.
January 1, 1829 The overture to the opera Fierabras D.796 by Franz Schubert (†0) is performed for the
first time, in the Musikvereinsaal, Vienna.
January 8, 1829 Samuel Sebastian Wesley (18) is appointed organist at St. Giles, Camberwell.
January 10, 1829 La fiancée, an opéra comique by Daniel-François-Esprit Auber (46) to words of Scribe
after Mason and Brucker, is performed for the first time, in Théâtre Feydeau, Paris.
January 12, 1829 Il paria, a melodramma by Gaetano Donizetti (31) to words of Gilardoni after
Delavigne, is performed for the first time, in Teatro San Carlo, Naples.
January 15, 1829 Giacomo Meyerbeer (37) meets with Alexander von Humboldt in Paris. The
composer wants Humboldt to bring a message to King Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia when he
travels to Berlin. His message is to apologize that Robert le diable has not yet been produced in Berlin
because it has taken two years to get it produced in Paris. Meyerbeer promised it to the king as the
first production after Paris.
January 18, 1829 Nicolò Paganini (46) gives a command performance before the King of Saxony and
his court at Brühl Palace, Dresden.
January 23, 1829 One day after he is appointed to the Academy of Fine Arts, the painter Wilhelm
Hensel asks Abraham and Lea Mendelssohn for the hand of their daughter, Fanny (23). Abraham
agrees willingly and enthusiastically. Lea is too shocked to respond.
January 30, 1829 Mirjams Siegesgesang D.942 by Franz Schubert (†0) is performed for the first time, at a
memorial concert on the eve of what would have been the composer’s 32nd birthday.
February 10, 1829 Annibale Francesco Sermattei, conte della Genga, Pope Leo XII, dies in Rome.
February 14, 1829 Prime Minister Karl Ludwig Wilhelm von Grolman of Hesse-Darmstadt dies and is
succeeded by Karl Wilhelm Heinrich du Bos Du Thil.
La straniera, a melodramma by Vincenzo Bellini (27) to words of Romani after Prévôt, is performed for
the first time, in Teatro alla Scala, Milan. It is even more successful than last year’s Il pirata.
February 16, 1829 François-Joseph Gossec dies at Passy, Paris, aged 95 years and 30 days.
A cantata for the engagement of Princess Augusta of Saxe-Weimar by Johann Nepomuk Hummel (50)
is performed for the first time.
February 25, 1829 After a benefit performance in which both of them take part at the Théâtre Favart,
Harriet Smithson informs Hector Berlioz (25), through her landlord M. Tartes, that she wants nothing
to do with him and that he should stop pestering her. “Then it’s quite impossible?” Berlioz asks. “Oh,
monsieur, nothing is more impossible,” comes the reply.
February 26, 1829 Il giovedi grasso o Il nuovo Pourceaugnac, a farsa by Gaetano Donizetti (31) to words
of Gilardoni, is performed for the first time, in Teatro del Fondo, Naples.
March 3, 1829 Since President-elect Andrew Jackson does not pay the customary visit to outgoing
President John Quincy Adams, the latter leaves the White House tonight and will not attend the
inauguration tomorrow.
March 4, 1829 King George IV grants an audience to the Duke of Wellington (Prime Minister), Sir
Robert Peel and Baron Lyndhurst at Windsor Castle. After almost six hours, Wellington is convinced
that the king is mad.
Andrew Jackson replaces John Quincy Adams as President of the United States.
March 5, 1829 Franz Schubert’s (†0) Hymnus an den Heiligen Geist D.964 for male chorus, soloists,
chorus and winds to words of Schmidt is performed for the first time, in the Landhaussaal, Vienna.
March 11, 1829 6 pm. Felix Mendelssohn (20) conducts (from the piano) the first performance of
Johann Sebastian Bach's (†78) St. Matthew Passion in nearly a century. This performance, in the Berlin
Singakademie, is much more successful than the original. Among the standing room only audience
are the King of Prussia, Georg Friedrich Wilhelm Hegel, Gaspare Spontini (53), Alexander von
Humboldt and Heinrich Heine. The conductor uses a baton for the first time. In the alto section of the
chorus is Fanny Mendelssohn (23).
March 12, 1829 Nicolò Paganini (46) is received at the Mendelssohn residence in Berlin where he
meets Felix (20) and Fanny (23). Wilhelm Hensel draws his portrait.
March 22, 1829 An agreement between Great Britain, France and Russia sets the borders of Greece
under a Christian ruler, subject to the control of Turkey.
March 29, 1829 Incidental music to Crabbe’s play Don Juan und Faust by Albert Lortzing (27) is
performed for the first time, in Detmold.
March 31, 1829 Francesco Saverio Castiglioni becomes Pope Pius VIII.
April 1, 1829 Vicente Ramón Guerrero Saldaña replaces Guadealupe Victoria as President of Mexico.
April 10, 1829 Felix Mendelssohn (20) leaves Berlin, accepting an invitation to London. He first
travels to Hamburg with his father and sister Rebecka.
Hector Berlioz (25) sends a copy of Huit scènes de Faust to Goethe. The author, after receiving a
negative reaction of the work from Carl-Friedrich Zelter, does not write back.
April 12, 1829 Daniel-François-Esprit Auber (47) is elected a member of the Institut, replacing
François Joseph Gossec (†0).
Alexander von Humboldt begins a scientific expedition into uncharted regions of Siberia.
April 13, 1829 Nicholas Chopin writes to Minister Stanislas Grabowski and the Board of
Administration for funds to allow his gifted son Fryderyk (19) to study abroad. Although Grabowski
favors the request, the board rejects it saying it is not possible to “squander public funds to encourage
such artists.”
The Roman Catholic Relief Bill passes the House of Lords. Catholics are now allowed to vote, sit in
Parliament and hold almost all military, civil and corporate offices.
April 18, 1829 Felix Mendelssohn (20) boards the packet Attwood in Hamburg for his first visit to
London.
April 21, 1829 Felix Mendelssohn (20) arrives in London, ten hours late after a rough channel crossing
and engine trouble.
An article called “Reflections on Religious Music” appears in the progressive Catholic weekly
Correspondant in Paris. It is signed “H”. The author, Hector Berlioz (25), will become a regular
contributor and, starting in June, will be paid.
April 27, 1829 La belle au bois dormant, a ballet by Ferdinand Hérold (38) to a scenario by Scribe and
Aumer, is performed for the first time, in the Paris Opéra.
April 30, 1829 Publication of Systematische Anweisung zum Fantasieren auf dem Pianoforte op.200 by Carl
Czerny (38) is announced in the Wiener Zeitung.
May 2, 1829 Great Britain takes formal possession of Western Australia.
May 4, 1829 Gioachino Rossini (37) signs a new contract to receive an annual government stipend on
top of any musical activities.
May 6, 1829 C. Demian of Austria receives the first patent for an accordion.
May 8, 1829 Louis Moreau Gottschalk is born in New Orleans, first of seven children born to Edward
Gottschalk, part owner of a cloth shop, and Aimée-Marie Bruslé, daughter of a baker.
May 9, 1829 Nicolò Paganini (46) gives his first performance in Berlin. Fanny Mendelssohn (23)
attends, and writes “about this extremely wonderful, incredible Talent, about this man, who has the
appearance of an insane murderer, and the movements of an ape. A supernatural, wild genius. He is
extremely exciting and provocative.”
May 14, 1829 Nicolò Paganini (46) receives the title of Hofkapellmeister from the king of Prussia.
While travelling from Leipzig to Heidelberg to attend the university, Robert Schumann (18) passes
through Frankfurt. He walks into a piano store, tells the proprietor he is the valet of an English
nobleman interested in buying an instrument, and plays the piano for three hours.
May 16, 1829 Vincenzo Bellini’s (27) tragedia lirica Zaira to words of Romani after Voltaire is
performed for the first time, in the new Teatro Ducale, Parma. It is a failure.
May 20, 1829 Les deux nuits, an opéra comique by Adrien Boieldieu (53) to words of Scribe and
Bouilly, is performed for the first time, in the Théâtre Ventadour, Paris. A success tonight, it will
ultimately fail.
May 21, 1829 August replaces Peter I as Duke of Oldenburg.
Nicolò Paganini (46) arrives in Warsaw from Frankfurt-an-der-Oder.
Robert Schumann (18) arrives in Heidelberg from Mannheim, having traveled on foot. Since he
exceeded his budget, he has no money for a coach. “My lodgings face the asylum on the right and the
Catholic church on the left, so that I’m really in doubt whether one is supposed to go crazy or become
a Catholic.”
May 23, 1829 To clear up the vagaries concerning publishing rights, music publishers meet in Leipzig
and sign the Conventional-Akte. Those involved are Johann André, Breitkopf & Härtel, C.F. Peters, B.
Schott’s Söhne, and Nikolaus Simrock.
May 24, 1829 Nicolò Paganini (46) performs at a banquet celebrating today’s coronation of the Tsar as
King of Poland, in Warsaw. Tsar Nikolai presents him with a diamond ring.
May 25, 1829 Felix Mendelssohn (20) makes his English conducting debut at a Philharmonic Society
concert in the Argyll Rooms with his Symphony no.1. The minuet has been replaced by an orchestral
version of the scherzo from his Octet.
May 27, 1829 Ave maris stella for soprano and orchestra by Felix Mendelssohn (20) is performed for
the first time, in the Berlin Marienkirche.
May 28, 1829 The Duchy of Holstein-Oldenburg becomes the Grand Duchy of Oldenburg under
Grand Duke August.
May 30, 1829 Felix Mendelssohn (20) performs Carl Maria von Weber’s (†2) Conzertstück in f minor in
the Argyll Rooms, London. His performance without music causes amazement among his listeners.
June 12, 1829 Agnes von Hohenstaufen, a grosse historisch-romantische Oper by Gaspare Spontini (54)
to words of Raupach, is performed completely for the first time, in the Royal Opera House, Berlin. See
May 28, 1827 and December 6, 1837.
June 15, 1829 Variations concertantes for cello and piano op.17 by Felix Mendelssohn (20) is performed
for the first time, in London.
June 18, 1829 The Colony of Western Australia is established.
June 19, 1829 The British Parliament passes An Act for improving the Police in and near the
Metropolis. Sponsored by Robert Peel, it creates the modern London Police Force.
June 27, 1829 British scientist, member of the Royal Society of London, James Smithson dies of natural
causes in Genoa. His will stipulates that should his only nephew die without issue, all of his fortune
should go to "the United States of America, to found at Washington, under the name of the
Smithsonian Institution, an Establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge."
June 30, 1829 Russian forces capture Silistria, 100 km southeast of Bucharest.
July 2, 1829 Russian troops complete their crossing of the Soganli Mountains.
Hector Berlioz (25) begins work on his third Prix de Rome attempt, the cantata Cléopatre.
July 4, 1829 Lowell Mason (37) directs the music at Boston’s Independence Day celebrations. William
L. Garrison gives his first important anti-slavery speech. Also in attendance is John Greenleaf
Whittier.
July 6, 1829 Gaetano Donizetti’s (31) melodramma Elisabetta al castello di Kenilworth to words of
Tottola after Hugo and Scribe after Scott is performed for the first time, in Teatro San Carlo, Naples.
July 8, 1829 Abraham Mendelssohn writes to his son Felix (20) in England urging him to adopt the
name Bartholdy in place of Mendelssohn, in order to show his Christian faith.
July 9, 1829 The Turkish defenders of Erzurum surrender to the Russians.
July 13, 1829 Felix Mendelssohn (20) organizes a concert in London to benefit flood victims in Silesia.
Many of the great musicians in London take part and the concert is sold out. This evening, more than
any other single event, establishes the love affair between England and Mendelssohn.
July 18, 1829 Ferdinand Hérold’s (38) opéra comique L’illusion to words of Saint-Georges and
Ménissier is performed for the first time, in the Théâtre de Ventadour, Paris.
July 19, 1829 Russian forces cross the River Kamchyk south of Varna and rout the waiting Turks, 250
km north of Constantinople.
After a stay of two months and ten concerts, Nicolò Paganini (46) is given a farewell reception in
Warsaw. He is returning to Berlin.
July 20, 1829 Fryderyk Chopin (19) completes his studies at the Skola Glówna Muzyki.
July 21, 1829 As soon as exams at Warsaw Conservatory are over, Fryderyk Chopin (19) leaves for
Vienna.
July 22, 1829 Felix Mendelssohn (20) departs London for Edinburgh in the company of his friend Karl
Klingemann.
July 25, 1829 Nicolò Paganini (46) gives the first of four concerts in Breslau (Poznan).
July 26, 1829 Felix Mendelssohn (20) and his friend Karl Klingemann reach Edinburgh. They will
spend three days there attending a bagpipe competition, visiting Holyrood Castle and “the Mecca of
the Romantics,” Walter Scott’s home in Abbotsford.
4,000 Spanish troops land near Veracruz in the hopes of reestablishing Spanish control over Mexico.
They will surrender on September 11.
July 30, 1829 Felix Mendelssohn (20) visits Holyrood Castle, home of Mary Queen of Scots and sight
of the murder of Rizzio. Here he is inspired to begin his “Scottish” Symphony.
Hector Berlioz’ (25) entry in the Prix de Rome competition, the cantata Cléopâtre, is performed for the
first time. No grand prize is awarded this year. The jury desired to give the prize to Berlioz but, as
Adrien Boieldieu (53) will tell him, they could not judge music that they were incapable of
understanding.
July 31, 1829 Fryderyk Chopin (19) arrives in Vienna for the first time.
Felix Mendelssohn and Karl Klingemann make a day-long trek from Edinburgh to Walter Scott’s
home in Abbotsford. Scott is making preparations to travel. “We found Sir Walter just leaving
Abbotsford, gaped at him like imbeciles, drove 80 miles and lost a whole day for the sake of nothing
more than half-an-hour’s trivial conversation.”
August 1, 1829 Felix Mendelssohn (20) and Karl Klingemann set out on a three-week tour of the
Scottish highlands. They travel mostly by foot.
August 3, 1829 Guillaume Tell, an opéra by Gioachino Rossini (37) to words of Jouy, Bis and others
after Schiller, is performed for the first time, at the Paris Opéra. The audience gives respectful
applause but the critics are effusive in their praise. Although Rossini will live another 39 years, he
will never again write an opera.
August 7, 1829 King Charles X confers the Legion of Honor on Gioachino Rossini (37).
Felix Mendelssohn (20) and Karl Klingemann reach Oban on the west coast of Scotland. He looks off
shore to the Hebrides Islands and conceives the theme for his overture The Hebrides.
August 8, 1829 As Fryderyk Chopin (19) is standing outside the Kärntnertortheater in Vienna,
speaking with friends, Count Gallenberg walks up to him and asks if he would play for him three
days hence. Chopin says yes.
Felix Mendelssohn (20) crosses to the Hebrides island of Staffa, sight of Fingal’s Cave, and the island
of Iona.
Jules Auguste Armand Marie, Prince de Polignac replaces Jean Baptiste Silvère Gaye, Vicomte de
Martignac as prime minister of France.
August 10, 1829 Nicolò Paganini (46) reaches Berlin after giving four concerts in Breslau (Poznan).
August 11, 1829 Fryderyk Chopin (19) plays his first concert in Vienna, to enthusiastic reviews.
Among other things, the young Pole gives the first performance of his Variations Brillantes on a Theme
by Mozart (La ci darem la mano). He later remembers, “I was overwhelmed by bravos.”
The first child of Gaetano Donizetti (31) dies in Rome at the age of 13 days.
August 13, 1829 Gioachino Rossini (37) and his wife leave Paris for Bologna.
August 18, 1829 Due to the success of his August 11 concert, Fryderyk Chopin (19) plays a second
successful concert in Vienna, premiering his Rondo á la Krakowiak.
August 19, 1829 Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin (19) leaves Vienna for Warsaw.
August 20, 1829 The Turkish governor surrenders Adrianople (Edirne), 212 km northwest of
Constantinople, to the Russians.
Robert Schumann (19) departs from Heidelberg on a journey to Switzerland and Italy.
August 21, 1829 Nicolò Paganini (46) arrives in Frankfurt-am-Main from Kassel where he was the
guest of Louis Spohr. He gave one concert in Kassel, without great success.
August 25, 1829 The United States offers to buy Texas from Mexico for 5,000,000 pesos.
August 26, 1829 Stopping in Milan on his way from Paris to Bologna, Gioachino Rossini (37) meets
Vincenzo Bellini (27) for the first time. The two have nothing but compliments for each other.
August 31, 1829 Mathias Rosenblad replaces Fredrik Gyllenborg as Prime Minister for Justice of
Sweden.
September 6, 1829 Gioachino Rossini (37) and his wife arrive in Bologna from Paris.
September 10, 1829 Felix Mendelssohn (20) arrives back in London from Scotland.
September 12, 1829 Fryderyk Chopin (19) arrives back in Warsaw from his two triumphant
performances in Vienna.
Gott segne den König, a cantata by Gaspare Spontini (54) to words of Herklotz, is performed for the first
time, in Halle.
September 14, 1829 The Treaty of Adrianople (Edirne) ends war between Russia and the Ottoman
Empire. The Russian border is extended to the southernmost branch of the Danube delta. Russia
annexes Akhalkalaki and Akhalkhitze. All other conquered territories are restored.
September 17, 1829 While riding in a cabriolet in London, Felix Mendelssohn (20) injures his knee
when the carriage overturns and throws him to the sidewalk. He will be confined to bed for two
months, causing him to miss the wedding of his sister Fanny (23) on October 3.
September 29, 1829 Nicolò Paganini (46) visits Goethe at Weimar.
Members of the Greater London Metropolitan Police first appear on the streets, established by an Act
of Parliament in June. Their headquarters are established in Scotland Yard, near Charing Cross. Their
creation was the work of Home Secretary Sir Robert Peel. Jeering political opponents of Sir Robert
dub the policemen “bobbies.”
October 1, 1829 Wilhelm Hensel and Fanny Mendelssohn (23) sign a wedding contract in Berlin with
her parents. Fanny’s share of the family fortune is judged to be 19,000 thalers. Her father Abraham
agrees to add a yearly stipend of 1,500 thalers.
October 2, 1829 At a wedding-eve celebration in Berlin, it is noted that the organ piece to be played
tomorrow as a postlude can not be found. The groom, Wilhelm Hensel, suggests that the bride, Fanny
Mendelssohn (23) compose a replacement. She does, finishing after midnight.
October 3, 1829 4 p.m. Fanny Mendelssohn (23) marries the Prussian court painter Wilhelm Hensel
in Berlin. She has written her own music for the occasion, an organ processional in F.
October 4, 1829 Mass in Eb D.950 for solo voices, chorus and orchestra by Franz Schubert (†0) is
performed for the first time, in the Church of the Holy Trinity at Alsergrund, Vienna.
Having secured four concert dates in Leipzig for Nicolò Paganini (46), Friedrich Wieck reintroduces
himself to the master in his Leipzig hotel. Wieck brings along his daughter Clara (10) who plays a
polonaise of her own composition. Paganini is complementary toward her playing.
October 6, 1829 The Liverpool-Manchester Railway holds an engine competition at Rainhill, England
before 10,000 people. Of the five engines tried, Robert Stephenson’s Rocket was judged to be the best,
averaging 22 km per hour over 100 km.
October 10, 1829 Maria Anna (Nannerl) Mozart dies at the age of 78.
October 12, 1829 After four successful concerts in ten days, Nicolò Paganini (46) departs Leipzig for
Halle.
October 17, 1829 The Delaware and Chesapeake Canal is opened linking the Delaware River with
Chesapeake Bay.
October 20, 1829 Robert Schumann (19) arrives back in Heidelberg after a tour of Switzerland and
northern Italy.
October 24, 1829 Giuseppe Verdi (16) applies for the position of organist at Soragna, Parma. He will
not be hired.
October 30, 1829 Goethe hears Nicolò Paganini (47) play in Weimar with an orchestra conducted by
Johann Nepomuk Hummel (50). “In relation to this pillar of flame and cloud I had no base for what is
known as enjoyment...All I heard was something akin to a meteor, and then was unable to account for
it. All the same it is strange to hear people--especially women--talking about it. With no hesitation
they say out loud what are effectively confessions.”
November 1, 1829 The Concert des sylphes from Huit scènes de Faust by Hector Berlioz (25) is
performed for the first time, in the Salle du Conservatoire, Paris.
November 6, 1829 Felix Mendelssohn (20) leaves his London lodgings for the first time in six weeks.
He has been laid up since his accident of September 17.
November 7, 1829 Le dilettante d’Avignon, an opéra comique by Fromental Halévy (30) to words of
Hoffman and the composer’s brother Leon, is performed for the first time, in the Théâtre Ventadour,
Paris. It is Halévy’s first true success.
November 14, 1829 Francesco IV replaces Maria Beatrice Ricciarda III as Duke of Massa and Prince of
Carrara.
A setting of Hora est for chorus and organ by Felix Mendelssohn (20) is performed for the first time, in
Berlin.
November 16, 1829 The house of Samuel Wesley (63) is set upon by several law officers sent by his
creditors. Wesley manages to escape to a friend’s house.
November 17, 1829 Samuel Wesley (63) once again avoids his creditors by travelling to Watford in
Hertfordshire where he is to give a concert.
November 18, 1829 The Leipzig Allgemeine Musikalische Zeitung calls Fryderyk Chopin (19) “one of
the brightest meteors on the musical horizon.”
November 25, 1829 At the conclusion of his last concert in Munich, Nicolò Paganini (47) is crowned
with laurels by the conductor Johann Hartmann Stuntz. The virtuoso bursts into tears.
November 28, 1829 Anton Grigoryevich Rubinstein is born in Vikhvatintsi, Ukraine in the Podolsk
District south of Moscow, the third son of Grigori Romanovich Rubinstein, who owns a pencil factory.
Emmeline, an opéra comique by Ferdinand Hérold (38) to words of Planard, is performed for the first
time, in the Théâtre de Ventadour, Paris.
November 29, 1829 After two months convalescence, Felix Mendelssohn (20) leaves England for
Berlin.
Gott im Ungewitter D.985, a vocal quartet by Franz Schubert (†1) is performed for the first time, in the
Vienna Redoutensaal.
Samuel Sebastian Wesley (19) is appointed organist at St. John, Waterloo Road, London.
November 30, 1829 After five years of work, the Welland Canal opens. It connects Lake Ontario with
Lake Erie, allowing vessels to avoid Niagara Falls.
December 8, 1829 Felix Mendelssohn (20) arrives home in Berlin.
December 17, 1829 José María Bacanegra replaces Vicente Ramón Guerrero Saldaña as interim
President of Mexico.
December 18, 1829 Nicolò Paganini (47) is made an honorary member of the Museum Gesellschaft of
Frankfurt.
December 20, 1829 Il genio dell’armonia for solo voices and chorus by Gaetano Donizetti (32) to words
of Visconti, is performed for the first time, in Rome, to honor Pope Pius VIII.
December 22, 1829 Der Templer und die Jüdin, a romantic opera by Heinrich August Marschner (34) to
words of Wohlbrück after Scott, is performed for the first time, in Leipzig Stadttheater.
December 23, 1829 A triumverate takes over the presidency of Mexico, consisting of Pedro Vélez,
Lucas Igancio de Paula Alamán y Escalada and Luis de Quintanar Soto Bocanegra y Ruiz.
December 26, 1829 Two new works by the Mendelssohn siblings are performed for the first time, at
the Berlin home of the composers’ parents, in honor of their silver wedding anniversary: Die Heimkehr
aus der Fremde, a liederspiel by Felix Mendelssohn (20) to words of Klingemann, and Festspiel for vocal
soloists, chorus and orchestra by Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel (24) to words of her husband, Wilhelm
Hensel.
December 29, 1829 Giacomo Meyerbeer (38) signs his first contract with the Paris Opéra.
January 1, 1830 Anastasio Bustamante y Osegera becomes acting President of Mexico.
January 13, 1830 Samuel Wesley (63) begins his last lecture series, in Bristol.
A great fire of suspicious origin strikes New Orleans causing over $300,000 damage. Slaves are
blamed.
The State of Venezuela secedes from Gran Colombia.
January 16, 1830 Johann Nepomuk Hummel (51) is voted honorary membership in the Philharmonic
Society of London.
January 24, 1830 Law student Robert Schumann (19) gives a very successful performance of
Moscheles, Alexander Variations in Heidelberg. Despite the public approval, he will descend into
depression for the next few months.
January 27, 1830 Samuel Wesley (63) gives the sixth and last lecture in his last lecture series, in
Bristol.
January 28, 1830 Fra Diavolo, ou L’hôtelliere de Terracine, an opéra comique by Daniel-François-Esprit
Auber to words of Scribe, is performed for the first time, at Théâtre de Ventadour, Paris on the eve of
the composer’s 48th birthday.
February 3, 1830 Ministers of Great Britain, France and Russia meet in London and agree on three
protocols which establish a completely sovereign Greece and fix its boundaries, create it a hereditary
monarchy, establish peace between Greece and the Ottomans, offer the Greek crown to Prince
Leopold of Saxe-Coburg and guarantee the religious freedom of Catholics in Greece.
February 5, 1830 Giacomo Meyerbeer (38) is awarded the Imperial Order of the Southern Cross by
Emperor Pedro I of Brazil in Paris.
February 6, 1830 Hector Berlioz (26) writes to Humbert Ferrand of his mental state under the
simultaneous burdens of conceiving the Symphonie fantastique and his infatuation with Harriet
Smithson. “I listen to the beating of my heart, its pulsations shake me like the pounding pistons of a
steam engine. Every muscle in my body quivers with pain. . . . Futile! . . . Horrible!” (Brittan, 218)
The Argyll Rooms, London, home of the Philharmonic Society, burn to the ground. The orchestra’s
library is saved.
I pazzi per progetto, a farsa by Gaetano Donizetti (32) to words of Gilardoni, is performed for the first
time, in Teatro del Fondo, Naples. The work scores a success.
February 7, 1830 Fryderyk Chopin (20) plays his Piano Concerto no.2 in f minor for the first time, in a
private performance in the Chopin home, Warsaw.
February 11, 1830 La noce de village, a ballet tableau by Ferdinand Hérold (39) is performed for the
first time, in the Palais de Tuileries, Paris.
February 18, 1830 Two songs for voice and piano by Hector Berlioz (26) to words of Moore, translated
by Gounet, are performed for the first time, in Paris: Le Coucher du soleil and Chant sacré.
February 20, 1830 Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg accepts the throne of an independent Greece.
Johann Nepomuk Hummel (51) departs Weimar for a tour of France and England.
February 25, 1830 A landmark of Romanticism, Victor Hugo’s Hernani is premiered in Paris. Hugo
places a number of loud supporters in the audience, ensuring success.
February 28, 1830 Gaetano Donizetti’s (32) azione tragico-sacra Il diluvio universale to words of
Gilardoni after Byron and Ringhieri is performed for the first time, in Teatro San Carlo, Naples. The
producton does not go well, largely due to staging problems.
March 1, 1830 The Argyll Rooms having been destroyed by fire, the Philharmonic Society gives their
first concert in their new temporary home, the King’s Theater. They will reside in the King’s Theater
for the next 38 years.
March 3, 1830 Queen Maria II of Portugal rules from the Azores in opposition to Dom Miguel.
March 5, 1830 Limelight is first tested before a group of scientists against two other designs, in the
Tower of London.
Johann Nepomuk Hummel (51) arrives in Paris on his current tour. It is his second trip to the French
capital.
March 6, 1830 Clara Wieck (10) plays outside Leipzig for the first time, in Dresden. She creates a
sensation.
March 11, 1830 I Capuleti e I Montecchi, a tragedia lirica by Vincenzo Bellini (28) to words of Romani
after Scevola, is performed for the first time, in Teatro La Fenice, Venice. It is very well received.
March 16, 1830 Led by Liberals, the French Chamber of Deputies votes to request of King Charles
that he make changes in his council to remove right-wing elements.
March 17, 1830 Fryderyk Chopin (20) makes his official debut performance in Warsaw, in the
National Theater, playing his f minor Piano Concerto publicly for the first time and the premiere of his
Fantasia on Polish Airs op.13.
March 18, 1830 Robert Schumann (19), for the first time, mentions thoughts of suicide in his diary.
He desires to throw himself into the Rhine.
March 21, 1830 Kantate zu Ehren von Josef Spendou D.472 by Franz Schubert (†1) to words of Hoheisel,
for solo voices, chorus and orchestra is performed for the first time, in the Landhaussaal, Vienna.
March 22, 1830 English explorers Richard and John Lander land at Badagri (Nigeria) and head north
for the Niger River.
March 24, 1830 Johann Nepomuk Hummel (51) gives a very successful concert in the Salle
Chantereine, Paris.
March 26, 1830 Joseph Smith publishes the Book of Mormon.
March 30, 1830 Grand Duke Ludwig I of Baden dies and is succeeded by his brother, Leopold I.
April 2, 1830 L’Armonica cetra del nume, a cantata for solo voices, chorus and orchestra by Gioachino
Rossini (38) in honor of Marchese Sampieri is performed for the first time, in the dedicatee’s Bologna
home.
April 3, 1830 Johann Nepomuk Hummel (51) gives his second and last concert on this trip through
Paris.
April 6, 1830 Grand Duke Ludwig I of Hesse dies and is succeeded by his son, Ludwig II.
Joseph Smith forms the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Fayette, New York.
Mexico decrees that no further immigration will be allowed from the United States into Texas. It also
institutes customs duties.
April 8, 1830 Johann Nepomuk Hummel (51) departs Paris for London.
April 11, 1830 Louis de Chaisne, Comte Bourmont becomes the first French military commander of
Algeria.
Acts I & II of Lazarus, oder Die Feier der Auferstehung D.689, an oratorio by Franz Schubert (†1) to words
of Niemeyer, is performed for the first time, in the Anna-Kirche, Vienna.
While in Frankfurt, Robert Schumann (19) witnesses a performance by Nicolò Paganini (47) for the
first time. Schumann is impressed, but wonders if Paganini might “lack that great, noble, priestly
serenity characteristic of the genuine artist.”
April 16, 1830 Hector Berlioz (26) writes his friend Humbert Ferrand that he is getting over his
obsession with Harriet Smithson by composing a symphony. He calls it Fantastic Symphony, Episode
in the Life of an Artist and includes a draft of the program, saying he has just written the last note.
April 17, 1830 While he is in London, Johann Nepomuk Hummel (51) is created a corresponding
member of the Institut de France in the Académie des Beaux Arts.
April 22, 1830 Giacomo Meyerbeer (38) is elected a corresponding member to the Académie Royale
des Beaux Arts de l’Institut de France.
April 24, 1830 Wilhelmine Schröder-Devrient sings Franz Shubert’s (†1) setting of Erlkönig for the
poet, Goethe, who reverses his previous negative reaction to the work.
April 26, 1830 Violin Concerto no.4 by Nicolò Paganini (47) is performed for the first time, in
Frankfurt.
April 27, 1830 Simón Bolivar resigns as president of Colombia.
April 28, 1830 Franz Liszt (18) and Henri Herz play duets at the Salle Chantereine, Paris.
April 29, 1830 Johann Nepomuk Hummel (51) gives his first concert on his current stay in London, in
the concert hall of the King’s Theater, Haymarket.
May 3, 1830 The first regular passenger service by steam locomotion begins in Kent, England.
Invicta will carry passengers ten km between Whitstable and Canterbury. Today only 1.5 km are
travelled.
Manon Lescaut, a ballet by Fromental Halévy (30) to a scenario by Scribe and Aumer after Prévost, is
performed for the first time, at the Paris Opéra. It enjoys a good success.
May 5, 1830 Franz Liszt (18) dines at the home of Victor Hugo in Paris where he meets Prosper
Mérimée.
May 7, 1830 Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka (25), accompanied by Nikolai Kuzmich Ivanov (20), tenor in
the Imperial Chapel, sets off from St. Petersburg to Italy by way of Germany. Glinka wants to travel
anyway but when a doctor (a friend of his father) states that only three years in a warmer climate will
cure him, his father allows him to go.
May 8, 1830 Felix Mendelssohn (21) leaves Berlin to travel in Italy.
May 11, 1830 L’auberge d’Auray, an opéra comique by Ferdinand Hérold (39) and Carafa to words of
Moreau de Commaguy and d’Epagny, is performed for the first time, in the Théâtre de Ventadour,
Paris.
May 13, 1830 The State of the South of Colombia (Ecuador) is declared independent of Gran
Colombia.
May 16, 1830 King Charles X of France dissolves Parliament and calls new elections.
May 17, 1830 The first mass meeting of “A Political Union of the Lower and Middle Classes of the
People” takes place in Birmingham.
Juan José de Flores becomes the first president of an independent Ecuador.
May 20, 1830 Tsar Nikolai I arrives in Warsaw to open the Polish diet. Many entertainments are
planned but the brightest Polish musical star is not invited to participate. Fryderyk Chopin (20)
believes he has been blacklisted as a radical and Polish nationalist.
The first railroad timetable is published in a Baltimore newspaper.
May 21, 1830 Vincenzo Bellini (28) suffers a loss of appetite and “bilious gastric inflammatory fever”
in Milan. It will take him over a month to recover. This is most likely amoebic dysentery, the disease
that will eventually kill him.
May 24, 1830 The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad opens its first section of track, west from Baltimore to
Ellicott’s Mills, Maryland. It is the first public railroad in the United States.
May 27, 1830 Attendre et courir, an opéra comique by Fromental Halévy to words of Fulgence and
Henri, is performed for the first time, in Théâtre Ventadour, Paris, on the composer’s 31st birthday.
May 28, 1830 Nicolò Paganini (47) consults Dr. Himly in Göttingen regarding his failing eyesight.
President Andrew Jackson signs the Indian Removal Act, forcing all Native Americans east of the
Mississippi River to leave their homes and move west of the river.
June 3, 1830 After an extended stay, Felix Mendelssohn (21) takes his leave of Johann Wolfgang von
Goethe at the poet’s home in Weimar. Goethe is much taken with the young musician and presents
him with a page of the original manuscript of Faust inscribed to my “dear young friend F.M.B.,
powerful, gentle master of the piano.”
June 4, 1830 Antonio José de Sucre, liberating general and former President of Bolivia, is shot to death
near Pasto, Colombia by persons unknown. He was returning to Quito to take up private life again.
June 5, 1830 Hector Berlioz (26) writes to his family in La Côte-St. André to ask consent to marry
Camille Moke, a very talented 18-year-old pianist. To his astonishment, they agree.
June 6, 1830 Hector Berlioz (26) and Camille Moke attempt an elopement. They get as far as
Vincennes before turning back.
June 14, 1830 French troops begin landing in Algeria.
June 16, 1830 Richard Wagner (17) enters the Thomasschule, Leipzig where he takes violin lessons for
a short while.
Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel (24) gives birth to her first and only child, Sebastian Ludwig Felix Hensel
in Berlin. The child is named after her three favorite composers.
June 18, 1830 Iyasu IV Salomon replaces Gigar Iyasu as Emperor of Ethiopia.
June 20, 1830 The British possession of Gibraltar becomes a crown colony.
June 21, 1830 Johann Nepomuk Hummel (51) gives the farewell concert on his current trip to London.
In spite of the audience’s concern for the health of the King, the performance is a success.
June 26, 1830 3:15 a.m. King George IV of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, King of
Hanover dies in Windsor, Berkshire. He is succeeded by his brother, William IV.
July 3, 1830 French elections concluding today result in a loss for pro-government forces.
July 4, 1830 Suffer the Little Children to Come Unto Me, an anthem by Lowell Mason (38), is performed
for the first time, by a children’s choir in Park Street Church, Boston.
July 5, 1830 French forces, which have been arriving in Algeria for three weeks, capture Algiers.
July 9, 1830 Stanislaw Moniuszko (11) receives a certificate attesting that, through private education,
he has attained adequate progress up to the fourth form.
July 15, 1830 The body of King George IV of Great Britain and Ireland, King of Hanover is laid to rest
at Windsor.
A treaty is signed in Keokuk which cedes 10,530,000 hectares belonging to the Sauk and Fox Indians in
Wisconsin and Illinois to the United States. The Indians must evacuate across the Mississippi into
Iowa.
Hector Berlioz (26) is chosen as one of the six finalists for the Prix de Rome for the fourth time. He
vows that whatever happens, this will be the last.
July 17, 1830 The six finalists for the Prix de Rome, including Hector Berlioz (26), enter the loges. The
poem is by Jean-François Gail on the last night of Sardanapalus.
Barthélemy Thimonnier receives a French patent for the first practical sewing machine.
July 18, 1830 The State of Montevideo becomes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay.
July 25, 1830 The “Ordinances,” signed by King Charles X of France at St. Cloud, abolish freedom of
the press, dissolve the Chamber of Deputies and reduce suffrage to landowners. 44 journalists
representing eleven newspapers, led by Adolphe Thiers, sign a protest to the decrees.
July 26, 1830 Thousands of people, led by printers, protest the Ordinances before the French Foreign
Ministry.
July 27, 1830 A French court rules that the King’s decree of July 25 was in direct contradiction to the
1814 Charter of Suffrage. Royal troops and Swiss guards circle the city. Barricades go up and shots
are fired. Revolutionaries reach the Hôtel de Ville.
In Monmartre, Franz Liszt (18) rushes out of his rooms to see the fighting in the streets. He begins
composing a “Revolutionary Symphony” (of which he will complete only one movement). He will
scribble in the margin, “27, 28, 29 July-Paris.” “Indignation, vengeance, terror, liberty! disorder,
confused cries (Wave, strangeness) fury...refusal, march of the royal guard, doubt, uncertainty, parties
at cross-purposes...attack, battle...march of the national guard--enthusiasm, enthusiasm,
enthusiasm...”
July 28, 1830 In the Paris fighting, the Hôtel de Ville changes hands three times. Citizens capture
cavalry barracks in the Rue de Babylone. A tricolor flag appears atop Notre Dame. In his loge in the
Institute, composing his Prix de Rome cantata, Hector Berlioz (26) hears the gunfire and drums.
Der Alchymist, an opera by Louis Spohr (46) to words of Schmidt under the pseudonym Pfeiffer after
Irving, is performed for the first time, in the Kassel Hoftheater.
July 29, 1830 After several hours of heavy fighting, citizens capture the Louvre and the Tuileries.
Royal troops begin to fraternize with revolutionaries. A provisional government is formed at the
Hôtel de Ville under Marie Jean Paul Roch Yves Gilbert Motier, Marquis de Lafayette. Hector Berlioz
(26) composes through the day as bullets hit the wall of the Institute, just across the Seine from the
Louvre. At 5:00 p.m., he turns in his Prix de Rome cantata, Le mort de Sardanaple, and leaves the
Institute to go to Mme Moke’s to see if his lover Camille is all right. He then searches for three hours
for arms with which to join the uprising. He reports for duty at the Hôtel de Ville with two hunting
pistols, one bullet and a little powder. Among those looting the Tuileries is Alexandre Dumas, père.
He is flattered to find a copy of his own book Christine in the royal apartments. He takes it with him.
July 30, 1830 Hearing a rumor that King Charles X is planning a counter-revolution, a crowd marches
to arrest the king at St. Cloud. Among the citizens is Hector Berlioz (26). When they reach the Etoile
they find the soldiers gone, so they return to town. 80 deputies meet in the Palais Bourbon led by
Jacques Lafitte and establish a new regime.
Robert Schumann (20) writes to his mother, telling her of his decision to give up the study of law and
asking her to write to Friedrich Wieck requesting his opinion of his future as a pianist.
July 31, 1830 Louis-Philippe de France, duc d’Orléans is appointed Lieutenant-General of France by
the 91 deputies now in Paris. Appearing before a hostile crowd at the Hôtel de Ville, Louis-Philippe
and the Marquis de Lafayette embrace, draped by a large tricolor. The onlookers shout approval.
Republicans issue demands for universal male suffrage, complete press freedom, desestablishment of
the Catholic Church and the end of hereditary nobility.
August 2, 1830 King Charles X of France abdicates his throne in favor of Henri, comte de Chambord.
After traveling 160 km upstream and back to Bussa (Nigeria), Richard and John Lander board canoes
at Bussa to traverse the lower Niger River.
August 3, 1830 Louis-Philippe, son of the Duc d’Orleans is elected King of the French.
August 5, 1830 Charles Wesley Jr. reports that his brother Samuel (64) is “deranged and strapped
down” but is better now, having been bled by doctors. He says the cause is “drink.”
August 7, 1830 In an all-day session, the French Chamber of Deputies reject republican demands for a
constitutional convention and a national referendum. They revise the constitution and name Louis-
Philippe as the new King of France.
August 9, 1830 Friedrich Wieck answers a letter of Johanna Schumann by telling her that her son
Robert (20) could in three years be made into “one of the foremost living pianists,” although he
seriously doubts his steadfastness.
Louis-Philippe de France, duc d’Orléans accepts the crown of France and reigns as Louis-Philippe I.
August 12, 1830 Johanna Schumann grudgingly approves a plan of Freidrich Wieck to allow her son
Robert (20) to study piano and theory and assess his progress after a six month period.
August 13, 1830 Achille Charles Léonce Victor, Duc de Broglie replaces Marie Jean Paul Roch Yves
Gilbert Motier, Marquis de Lafayette as prime minister of France.
August 14, 1830 A Constitutional Charter for France is promulgated. It calls for an elected monarchy,
legislation initiated in the Chambers, an end to press censorship and the disestablishment of Roman
Catholicism.
August 19, 1830 By a vote of 6-2, the Prix de Rome jury awards the grand prize to Hector Berlioz (26).
August 23, 1830 Heinrich replaces Friedrich Ferdinand as Duke of Anhalt-Köthen. Ludwig replaces
Heinrich as Prince of Anhalt-Köthen-Pless.
August 25, 1830 A performance of Auber’s (48) La Muette de Portici takes place in the Théâtre de la
Monnaie, Brussels as part of celebrations surrounding the 15th anniversary of King Willem I on the
Dutch throne. The Belgians see the opera as revolutionary in nature and attend spoiling for a fight. A
large crowd of mostly young armed men gathers outside. At one point in the music, the already
agitated audience is moved to frenzy and storms out into the streets, joining the assembled mob.
They stream through the city attacking any and all symbols of Dutch control.
August 27, 1830 Hector Berlioz (26) is presented to Abraham Mendelssohn (father of Felix (21)) in
Paris. Mendelssohn finds the newly famous composer “agreeable and interesting and a great deal
more sensible than his music.”
Simón Bolívar makes his famous statement, “America is ungovernable. He who sows a revolution
ploughs the sea.”
August 31, 1830 A British patent is awarded to Edwin Beard Budding of Stroud, Gloucestershire for a
lawn mower.
September 1, 1830 Mary Had a Little Lamb, a poem by Sarah J. Hales, is published in Boston.
September 2, 1830 Violence begins in Leipzig with apprentice blacksmiths protesting the arrest of one
of their fellows.
September 4, 1830 Gioachino Rossini (38) leaves Bologna for Paris. He does not bring his wife as he
expects to be away for only one month. They will not meet again for four years.
Violence escalates in Leipzig as proletarians attack the Brockhaus printers to destroy machines they
fear will take their jobs.
September 5, 1830 Imelda de’ Lambertazzi, a melodramma tragico by Gaetano Donizetti (32) to words
of Tottola, is performed for the first time, in Teatro San Carlo, Naples.
September 6, 1830 With the elector out of town, bread riots break out in Kassel. They are put down
with troops.
September 9, 1830 Felix Mendelssohn (21) arrives in Munich after leaving Milan July 20 and
travelling most of the distance on foot.
In keeping with the bourgeois quality of the new French monarchy, the post of superintendant of the
Royal Chapel is abolished. Thus, Luigi Cherubini (70) and Jean-François Le Sueur, who hold the post
jointly, become the last musicians to hold this position stretching back centuries.
September 10, 1830 Robert Schumann (20) receives a certificate of study from the University of
Heidelberg.
September 12, 1830 Elector Wilhelm II of Hesse-Kassel returns to the capital from Karlsbad. In a few
days, unable to depend on his military, he will call for a new constitution for the country.
September 15, 1830 The Liverpool and Manchester Railroad opens. It is the first public railroad to
use steam locomotion exclusively for both passengers and freight.
September 16, 1830 Aloys Fuchs, a collector of musical manuscripts, presents his new friend Felix
Mendelssohn (21) with the “Wittgenstein” sketchbook of Beethoven (†3), in Vienna. It contains drafts
of the Piano Sonata op.109, the Diabellis Variations and the Missa Solemnis.
September 18, 1830 A race between a horse and Tom Thumb, the first locomotive made in the United
States, over a 15 km course from Riley’s Tavern to Baltimore, is won by the horse.
September 22, 1830 State of the South of Colombia is renamed the State of Ecuador.
September 24, 1830 An Administrative Commission is established by revolutionaries in Belgium.
Charles Rogier is named Minister of State.
Robert Schumann (20) leaves Heidelberg and the study of law for Leipzig and the study of music.
September 28, 1830 The son of Emperor Franz I of Austria becomes King Ferdinand V of Hungary.
October 4, 1830 The Provisional Government of Belgium declares the independence of the country
from the Netherlands.
Bedrich Smetana (6) appears in public for the first time, at the local school in Litomysl, Bohemia. It is
a concert honoring the name day of the Austrian emperor. He plays a piano arrangement of the
overture to Auber’s (48) La muette de Portici.
October 9, 1830 Felix Mendelssohn (21) arrives in Venice.
October 11, 1830 At his last performance in Warsaw, Fryderyk Chopin (20) premieres his Piano
Concerto no.1 in e minor.
October 13, 1830 Daniel-François-Esprit Auber’s (48) opéra Le Dieu et la bayadère, ou La courtisane
amoureuse to words of Scribe is performed for the first time, in the Paris Opéra.
October 17, 1830 Dutch forces bombard Antwerp.
October 16, 1830 The Provisional Government of Belgium declares that Luxembourg is a part of their
country.
October 20, 1830 Robert Schumann (20) moves into the Leipzig home of his teacher, Friedrich Wieck,
which includes Wieck’s daughter, Clara (11).
October 22, 1830 Felix Mendelssohn (21) reaches Florence from Bologna.
October 24, 1830 The State of Venezuela is renamed the Republic of Venezuela.
October 28, 1830 Hector Berlioz (26) petitions the Minister of the Interior for “authorization to enjoy
in Paris the grant which the government in its munificence accords to laureates of the Academy.” He
includes support from four eminent musicians including Gaspare Spontini (55) and Giacomo
Meyerbeer (39).
October 30, 1830 Prince-Bishop Peter I Petrovic of Montenegro dies and is succeeded by his nephew
Peter II Petrovic Njegos.
Hector Berlioz (26) receives his laurel wreath of the Prix de Rome. The performance of his winning
cantata, La mort de Sardanaple, is less than successful. The percussion players miss the loud crashes
towards the end and the composer throws the score into the orchestra, knocking over a music stand.
He is restrained.
November 1, 1830 Felix Mendelssohn (21) arrives in Rome.
November 2, 1830 Fryderyk Chopin (20) leaves Warsaw for Vienna intending to find performances
outside Poland. Unknown to him now, he will never return.
November 3, 1830 Jacques Lafitte replaces Achille Charles Léonce Victor, Duc de Broglie as prime
minister of France.
November 7, 1830 Ouverture pour La Tempête de Shakespeare for chorus and orchestra by Hector Berlioz
(26) is performed for the first time, in the Paris Opéra as an entr’acte between Act I of Rossini’s (38) La
siège de Corinthe and a ballet.
November 8, 1830 King Francesco I of the Two Sicilies dies in Naples and is succeeded by his son
Ferdinando II.
Clara Wieck (11) makes her official debut at the Leipzig Gewandhaus. She plays her variations on an
Original Theme and a song, probably Der Traumto words of Tiedge. She also plays Rondo brilliant for
piano and orchestra op.101 by Kalkbrenner (45), Variations Brillantes op.23 by Henri Herz (27) and
Quartet Concertante for four pianos and orchestra op.230 by Carl Czerny (39).
November 11, 1830 The Verdi family is evicted from their home of 39 years for non-payment of rent.
They move to a tavern in Busseto.
November 15, 1830 An anti-government measure proposed by Henry Parnell surprisingly carries in
the House of Commons. The Prime Minister, the Duke of Wellington, resigns.
November 20, 1830 Publication of the Concerto for Piano and Orchestra op.113 by Johann Nepomuk
Hummel (52) is announced in the Allgemeiner Musikalischer Anzeiger, Vienna.
November 22, 1830 The Belgian National Assembly votes to institute a monarchy.
Charles Grey, Earl Grey replaces Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington as Prime Minister of the
United Kingdom.
November 23, 1830 Fryderyk Chopin (20) arrives in Vienna from Warsaw with his friend Tytus
Woyciechowski.
November 29, 1830 Led by revolutionary conspirators, Polish troops guarding public buildings in
Warsaw seize the Belvedere Palace and although they are unable to draw senior officers to their cause,
they manage to distribute weapons to the public. Armed bands overtake the soldiers as leaders of a
general insurrection against Russian rule. Grand Duke Konstantin, Russian Viceroy, escapes the city.
November 30, 1830 The Revolutionaries are in control of Warsaw. The Russian army and Grand
Duke Konstantin are forced to retreat.
Riots break out in Tambov, 400 km southeast of Moscow, in response to a cholera epidemic and the
government policy of quarantine.
Pope Pius VIII, Francesco Saverio Castiglioni, dies in Rome.
December 1, 1830 Polish troops outside Warsaw decide to join the uprising and they march into the
city to defend it.
English explorers Richard and John Lander reach Fernando Po (Bioko) after having traversed the
lower Niger River by canoe over the last four months.
December 3, 1830 A provisional government for the Kingdom of Poland is set up in Warsaw.
General Józef Chlopicki is named dictator.
December 4, 1830 Franz Liszt (19) meets Hector Berlioz (26) for the first time, in Paris on the eve of
Symphonie fantastique. Berlioz will remember in his Mémoires, “We were strongly attracted to one
another, and our friendship has increased in warmth and depth ever since. He was present at the
concert and excited general attention by his applause and enthusiasm.”
December 5, 1830 Warsaw is considered “liberated” after the defection of the army and the
withdrawal of the Russian regent.
In Vienna, Fryderyk Chopin (20) and Tytus Woyciechowski learn of the uprising in Warsaw. Tytus
returns to participate, but he convinces Chopin to stay in Vienna. Chopin apparently changes his
mind and tries to catch his friend as he is leaving, but is unable to do so.
Afternoon. Episode de la vie d’un artiste: Symphonie fantastique en cinq parties by Hector Berlioz (26) is
performed for the first time, at the Paris Conservatoire. Also on the program is the premiere of
Berlioz’ Chant guerrier for voice and piano to words of Moore, translated by Gounet. Giacomo
Meyerbeer (39) and Gaspare Spontini (56) are among the admirers. Berlioz later remembers that Liszt
(19) “forcibly led me off to dinner at his house and praised me with the most energetic enthusiasm.”
Tonight Harriet Smithson appears at the Opéra in the title role of Auber’s (48) La Muette de Portici.
Her performance is a failure. Berlioz does not attend as he is having dinner with Liszt.
December 6, 1830 A package containing an expensive score of Olimpie arrives at the Paris home of
Hector Berlioz (26). The score is signed “your affectionate Spontini” (56) by the composer.
An interim administration is set up in Poland under Adam Jerzy, Prince Czartoryski.
The first astronomical observatory in the United States is set up by the Navy in Washington.
December 11, 1830 Fromental Halévy’s (31) opéra comique La langue musicale to words of Saint-Yves
is performed for the first time, at the Théâtre Ventadour, Paris. It will run for 30 performances into
next year.
December 14, 1830 Hector Berlioz’ (27) petition of October 28, to spend his Prix de Rome year in
Paris, is denied by the Minister of the Interior.
December 17, 1830 Tsar Nikolai I condemns the Polish revolution and orders Polish troops to
concentrate at Plock, 95 km northwest of Warsaw. He also offers pardon to all who will leave the
uprising.
Simón Bolívar dies of tuberculosis in Santa Marta on the Caribbean coast of Colombia. He was
intending to leave America permanently.
December 18, 1830 The Polish Diet meets in Warsaw and supports the revolution. The new
government styles itself the Supreme National Council.
December 19, 1830 Die Jagd, a komische Oper by Albert Lortzing (29) to his own words after Hiller
and Weisse, is performed for the first time, in Detmold Hoftheater.
December 20, 1830 Ministers of Austria, France, Great Britain, Prussia and Russia, meeting in
London, agree that the union of Belgium and the Netherlands is untenable and proceed to effect its
dissolution.
When four of former King Charles X’s ministers found guilty of various crimes are sentenced to life
imprisonment instead of death, three days of riots begin in Paris.
December 25, 1830 An overture in Bb “Drumbeat Overture” WWV 10 by Richard Wagner (17) is
performed for the first time, in the Royal Saxon Hoftheater, Leipzig. It is Wagner’s public debut as a
composer.
December 26, 1830 Gaetano Donizetti's (33) tragedia lirica Anna Bolena to words of Romani after
Pindemonte and Pepoli is performed for the first time, in Teatro Carcano, Milan. Of the unusually
warm reception Donizetti writes, “success, triumph, delerium.” A traveling Russian, Mikhail
Ivanovich Glinka (26), will remember “The performance was like magic for me.”
December 30, 1830 Hector Berlioz (27) reluctantly leaves Paris for Rome to fulfill his Prix de Rome
obligations. He intends to stop at his home, La Côte-St.-André along the way.
©2004-2010 Paul Scharfenberger
January 8, 2010
