See also: 1875 in music, other events of 1876, 1877 in music and the list of 'years in music'.

Events

• August 16 - Ricard Wagner's Siegfried debuts in Bayreuth

Published popular music

• "I'll Take You Home Again, Kathleen" by Thomas Payne Westendorf
• "Grandfather's Clock" by Henry Clay Work
• "The Bonnie Banks o' Loch Lomond" by Andrew Lang
• "Gay As A Lark" by Septimus Winner
• "When The Great Red Dawn is Shining" (anon)
• "Old Aunt Jemima" by James Grace
• "Rose of Killarney" by George Cooper & John Rogers Thomas

Classical music

• Pietro Abbà Cornaglia - Requiem
• Felix Draeseke - Six Fugues for piano; Dämmerungsräume: Five piano pieces, op 14
• Benjamin Godard - Concerto Romantique

Opera

• Arrigo Boito - Mefistofele
• Luigi Denza - Wallenstein

Musical theater

Births

• January 12 - Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari, composer
• January 29 - Havergal Brian, composer (d. 1972)
• February 2 - Giovanni Zenatello, tenor
• February 28 - John Alden Carpenter, composer
• March 11 - Carl Ruggles, composer (d. 1971)
• June 5 - Tony Jackson, jazz musician (d. 1920)
• August 14 - Florrie Forde , Australian-born English Music Hall singer
• September 15 - Bruno Walter, conductor (d. 1962)
• November 23 - Manuel de Falla, composer (d. 1946)

Deaths