1890 in music

Events

* September 9 - Edward Elgar's concert overture "Froissart" is premiered at the Three Choirs Festival in Worcester
* George W. Johnson records phonograph cylinders
* First full performance of Hector Berlioz's opera, "Les Troyens", takes place at Karlsruhe, 21 years after the composer's death

Published popular music

* "The Commodore Song"
* "Little Pig Went To Market" by J. Cheever Goodwin & Gustave Kerker
* "Maggie Murphy's Home" w. Edward Harrigan m. David Braham
* "Passing By" w. Robert Herrick m. Edward C. Purcell
* "Throw Him Down McCloskey" w.m. John W. Kelly
* "You'll Miss Lots of Fun When You're Married" by John Philip Sousa & Edward M. Taber

Classical music

*Ferruccio Busoni - "Violin Sonata No. 1", Opus 29
*Ernest Chausson - "Chansons de Shakespeare"
*Antonín Dvořák - "Requiem"
*Alexander Glazunov - "Symphony No. 3", Opus 33
*Armas Järnefelt - "Ouverture Lyrique"
*Alexander Scriabin - "Romance for Horn and Piano"
*Jean Sibelius - "Piano Quintet in G minor"
*Sergei Taneyev - "String Quartet No. 1" Opus 4

Opera

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

Musical theater

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

Births

*February 25 - Myra Hess, pianist
* February 27 - Freddie Keppard
* March 20
**Beniamino Gigli, opera singer
**Lauritz Melchior, opera singer
* March 28 - Paul Whiteman
* April 17 - Gussie Mueller
*May 21 - Harry Tierney, songwriter, composer of "Irene" and "Rio Rita"
* June 6 - Ted Lewis
* June 26 - Jeanne Eagels, Broadway star
*August 12 - Lillian Evanti, opera singer
*August 15 - Jacques Ibert, composer
*September 15 - Frank Martin, composer
*October 1 - Stanley Holloway, English actor and singer
* December 8 - Bohuslav Martinů
*"date unknown" - Rob Barbecue, jazz musician

Deaths

*January 8 - Giorgio Ronconi, operatic baritone (b. 1810)
*January 17 - Salomon Sulzer, cantor and composer (b. 1804)
*January 20 - Franz Lachner, conductor and composer (b. 1803)
*April 16 - John Barnett, composer and music writer (b. 1802)
*May 6 - Hubert Léonard, violinist (b. 1819)
*May 28 - Viktor Nessler, composer (b. 1841)
*June 30 - Samuel Parkman Tuckerman, composer (b. 1819)
*October 7 - John Hill Hewitt, songwriter (b. 1801)
*October 17 - Prosper Sainton, violinist (b. 1813)
*October 28 - Alexander John Ellis, music theorist (b. 1814)
*November 8 - César Franck, composer (b. 1822)
*December 21 - Niels Wilhelm Gade, composer (b. 1817)
*"date unknown" - Ostap Veresai, minstrel and kobzar (b. 1803)