1884 in music

Specific locations

 * 1884 in Norwegian music

Events

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

Bands formed

 * Cory Band

Published popular music

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

Classical music

 * Anton Bruckner – Te Deum (begun 1881)
 * Henri Duparc – La Vie Antérieure
 * Antonín Dvořák – Ballade in D minor
 * César Franck – Prelude, Chorale, and Fugue
 * Robert Fuchs – Symphony No. 1 in C
 * Alexander Glazunov – String Quartet No. 2 Opus 10 in F major
 * Charles Gounod – Mors et Vita (oratorio)
 * Richard Strauss – Symphony No. 2
 * Hugo Wolf – String Quartet in D minor (begun 1878)

Opera

 * Eduard Caudella – Hatmanul Baltag
 * Luigi Mancinelli – Isora di Provenza
 * Miguel Marqués – El reloj de Lucerna
 * Jules Massenet – Manon
 * Karl Millöcker – Gasparone
 * Viktor Nessler – Der Trompeter von Säkkingen
 * Giacomo Puccini – Le Villi
 * Charles Villiers Stanford – The Canterbury Pilgrims
 * Felix Weingartner – Sakuntala

Musical theater

 * Adonis Broadway production opened at the Bijou Theatre on September 4 and ran for 603 performances
 * The Beggar Student London production opened at the Alhambra Theatre on April 12 and ran for 112 performances
 * The Grand Mogul London production
 * Princess Ida London production opened at the Savoy Theatre on January 5 and ran for 246 performances
 * Princess Ida Broadway production opened at the Fifth Avenue Theatre on February 11 and ran for 48 performances

Births

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

Deaths

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