1844
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1 January 1844 A setting of Psalm 98 for double chorus, orchestra and organ by Felix Mendelssohn (34) is performed for the first time, in Berlin along with the first performances of his Wachet Auf for chorus and winds and Herr Gott, du bist unsre Zuflucht for double chorus.
7 January 1844 Franz Liszt (32) conducts for the first time in Weimar.
Lowell Mason (52) becomes music director at the Central Church on Winter Street in Boston.
8 January 1844 A day after the Berlin premiere of Der fliegende Holländer, Giacomo Meyerbeer (52) hosts a dinner in honor of Richard Wagner (30).
10 January 1844 Richard Wagner (30) writes to Felix Mendelssohn (34), “I am really happy that you like me. If I have come a little closer to you, that is the nicest thing about my whole Berlin expedition.”
16 January 1844 Mangareva, in the Gambier Islands, is made a French protectorate.
18 January 1844 Bedrich Smetana (19) is appointed the resident piano teacher to the family of Count Leopold Thun in Prague.
Caterina Cornaro, a tragedia lirica by Gaetano Donizetti (46) to words of Sacchèro after Saint-Georges, is performed for the first time, at Teatro San Carlo, Naples. The audience reaction is hostile and the work receives only six performances.
19 January 1844 Michael Faraday, speaking at the Royal Institution, London, postulates that the universe is made up of forces, with the material world existing within the various fields, rather than the other way around. He is so far ahead of his time his ideas are given little credence.
25 January 1844 Robert (33) and Clara (24) Schumann leave Leipzig for a concert tour of Russia.
29 January 1844 Ernst II replaces Ernst I as Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.
1 February 1844 José Valentín Raimundo Canalizo Bocadillo replaces Antonio López de Santa Anna y Pérez de Lebrón as President of Mexico.
3 February 1844 Two new works by Hector Berlioz (40) are performed for the first time, at the Salle Herz, Paris, the composer conducting: the overture Le carnaval romain and the ballade Hélène for male vocal quartet and orchestra to words of Moore translated by Gounet. This Berlioz concert in Salle Herz marks probably the first public use of new instruments invented by Adolphe Sax: saxophones, piccolo trumpet in E flat, piccolo valved bugle in Eb, valved bugle and bass clarinet. Berlioz’ enthusiasm for his work is “instrumental” in establishing Sax in Paris. Among today’s performers is a promising 19-year-old cornettist named J-J-B Arban.
4 February 1844 A military revolt against the Portuguese government begins in Torres Novas.
6 February 1844 Robert (33) and Clara (24) Schumann arrive in Riga on their way to St. Petersburg.
19 February 1844 Violin Sonata W.33 by Peter Cornelius (19) is performed for the first time, in Wiesbaden, the composer at the piano.
27 February 1844 The Dominican Republic gains independence from Haiti. The President of the ruling junta is Francisco del Rosario Sánchez.
28 February 1844 On the Potomac River, the crew of the USS Princeton, demonstrating the ship’s armaments to top government officials, fires a gun which explodes, killing Secretary of State Abel Upshur, Secretary of the Navy Thomas Gilmer and several others while causing many injuries. President John Tyler, though on board, is unhurt.
29 February 1844 Franz Liszt (32) hears a performance of Rienzi in Dresden. It is his first encounter with the music of Richard Wagner (30) and he is greatly impressed. He decides to put on a Wagner opera at Weimar as soon as he can.
1 March 1844 Traité d’instrumentation by Hector Berlioz (40) is published.
2 March 1844 A constitution for Greece is promulgated.
4 March 1844 Robert (33) and Clara (24) Schumann arrive in St. Petersburg from Leipzig, having concertized in Königsberg (Kaliningrad), Riga, Mitau (Jelgava) and Dorpat (Tartu).
5 March 1844 Clara Schumann (24) is named an honorary member of the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Society.
7 March 1844 A new constitution is presented to King Othon of Greece. He demands changes that will not be agreed to.
8 March 1844 King Carl XIV of Sweden (Jean Baptiste Bernadote) dies in Stockholm and is succeeded by his son, Oscar I.
9 March 1844 Ernani, a dramma lirico by Giuseppe Verdi (30) to words of Piave after Hugo, is performed for the first time, in Teatro La Fenice, Venice. Despite a mediocre performance, it is very successful, enjoying a favorable reception.
11 March 1844 Konstantinos Michail Kanaris replaces Andreas Metaxas as Prime Minister of Greece.
Santo Genio dell’Italia terra, a cantata for chorus and orchestra by Gioachino Rossini (52) to words of Marchetti, is performed for the first time, in the Palazzo Carignano, Turin for the tercentenary of Tasso’s birth.
12 March 1844 Samuel Sebastian Wesley (33) begins eight lectures on church music at the Collegiate Institute, Liverpool.
14 March 1844 The periodical Le Siècle begins a serialization of Alexandre Dumas’ novel Les Trois Mousquetaires which will run until 14 July. It is an instant hit.
18 March 1844 Nikolay Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov is born in Tikhvin, Novgorod government, 175 km east of St. Petersburg, of a military family.
23 March 1844 Le lazzarone, ou Le bien vient en dormant, a grand opéra by Fromental Halévy (44) to words of Saint-Georges, is performed for the first time, at the Paris Opéra.
24 March 1844 Clara Schumann (24) gives a private performance for Tsar Nikolay and the Russian royal family in St. Petersburg.
26 March 1844 La sirène, an opéra comique by Daniel-François-Esprit Auber (62) to words of Scribe, is performed for the first time, at the Théâtre Favart, Paris.
29 March 1844 A setting of Psalm 22 for solo voices and chorus by Felix Mendelssohn (35) is performed for the first time, in Berlin along with the first performance of his Um unserer Sünden for double chorus.
30 March 1844 Greece becomes a constitutional monarchy as King Othon I swears allegiance to the constitution. Universal male suffrage is guaranteed.
2 April 1844 Robert (33) and Clara (24) Schumann depart St. Petersburg after a month in the city, making for Moscow.
The United States opens a consulate in Alta California at Monterrey.
10 April 1844 Robert (33) and Clara (24) Schumann arrive in Moscow from St. Petersburg.
11 April 1844 After almost four years of haggling between Church authorities and the heirs of Nicolò Paganini (†3), the City of Genoa gives permission for the composer’s mortal remains to enter their territory.
Alexandros Nikolaou Mavrokordatos replaces Konstantinos Michail Kanaris as Prime Minister of Greece.
12 April 1844 Texas and the United States sign a treaty of annexation.
16 April 1844 Franz Liszt (32) gives the first of two solo recitals at the Théâtre-Italien, Paris.
18 April 1844 Over the next week, civil disturbances occur in Lisbon in support of the military revolt in Torres Novas.
20 April 1844 Portugal makes Macao into an overseas province.
22 April 1844 The earthly remains of Nicolò Paganini (†3) are brought into Genoa and transported to the Paganini property at Ramairone.
25 April 1844 Spain formally recognizes the independence of Chile.
29 April 1844 Valentin Alkan (30) gives his only known solo recital, at Salle Erard, Paris. He plays the premieres of his Nocturne op.22, Saltarelle op.23, Alleluia op.25 and Air de ballet op.24/2. It is wildly successful with an audience that includes Frédéric Chopin (34), Franz Liszt (32), George Sand and Alexandre Dumas.
30 April 1844 While fishing near Concord, Massachusetts, Henry David Thoreau accidentally sets fire to the forest. The damage totals 120 hectares and $2,000.
3 May 1844 Ramón María Narváez y Campos, duque de Valencia replaces Luis González-Bravo López de Arjona as Prime Minister of Spain.
Irish-Americans attack a nativist rally in Philadelphia. The nativists retreat.
4 May 1844 At a concert in the Théâtre-Italien, Paris where he plays many solo works, Franz Liszt (32) performs the Konzertstück of Carl Maria von Weber (†17). The orchestra is directed by Hector Berlioz (40).
6 May 1844 Fighting breaks out again in Philadelphia between Irish and nativists. Four people are killed and a convent and several dwellings of Catholics are attacked.
7 May 1844 Once again nativists invade an Irish district in Philadelphia and rioting ensues. It continues until the militia arrive. Dozens of buildings are burned.
8 May 1844 Felix Mendelssohn (35) arrives in London for his eighth journey to Britain. He will conduct several Philharmonic concerts.
Giuseppe Verdi (30) buys Il Pulgaro, a farm near Bussetto. It will be his parents’ primary home.
Nativists burn down two Catholic churches and a convent in Philadelphia, as well as several more homes. Over the last week, 14 people have been killed in communal violence.
12 May 1844 Frédéric Chopin (34) receives a letter in Paris informing him of the death of his father in Warsaw on 3 May. He dissolves into a deep depression and refuses to come out of his room for days, seeing no one.
15 May 1844 Jacques Offenbach (24) appears as cello virtuoso in London for the first time. One critic will remark, “He is on the violoncello what Paganini (†3) was on the violin.”
24 May 1844 Robert (33) and Clara (24) Schumann arrive in Leipzig after a four month concert tour of Russia.
Inventor Samuel FB Morse sends the first message over telegraph wires from the US Supreme Court Chamber to Baltimore, a distance of some 50 km. The message sent is “What hath God wrought?” Morse further transmits the result of a vote in the House of Representatives to the Baltimore Patriot.
27 May 1844 At the request of Felix Mendelssohn (35), Joseph Joachim (13) makes his London debut playing the Beethoven (†17) Violin Concerto with Mendelssohn and the Philharmonic Society. Mendelssohn’s popularity was enough to overcome the Society’s ban on child prodigies.
30 May 1844 Frédéric Chopin (34), George Sand and her two children arrive at her estate Nohant in Berry. Instead of recovering from his father’s recent death, Chopin immediately contracts a dental infection, restricting him to bed for a week with fever and hallucinations.
Felix Mendelssohn (35) once again visits Buckingham Palace where he plays his own music and improvises on others’. He accompanies Queen Victoria in one of the songs by his sister Fanny (38). “He is such an agreeable, clever man…and his countenance beams with intelligence and genius.” (Eatcock, 86)
31 May 1844 Natal is attached to the Cape Colony as a dependency by the British government.
4 June 1844 Weavers in Silesia revolt against the Prussian authorities in protest to very bad economic conditions, unemployment and hunger.
Antonio López de Santa Anna y Pérez de Lebrón replaces José Valentín Raimundo Canalizo Bocadillo as President of Mexico.
6 June 1844 Prussian authorities brutally suppress the weavers’ revolt in Silesia.
The Factory Act is passed by the British Parliament, limiting women to a 12-hour day and limiting children 8-13 years of age to work no more than 6 1/2 hours.
Draper George Williams and a small group meet in St. Paul’s Churchyard, London and form the Young Men’s Christian Association as an evangelical organization.
Jacques Offenbach (24) performs at Windsor Castle before Queen Victoria, Prince Albert, Tsar Nikolay I, King Ludwig I of Bavaria and other illustrious people. He is a big success.
8 June 1844 The US Senate refuses to ratify the Texas annexation treaty.
10 June 1844 Felix Mendelssohn (35) conducts a Philharmonic concert on his eighth trip to London. In the audience are Queen Victoria, Prince Albert, and King Friedrich August II of Saxony.
Mormon raiders destroy the presses of a critical newspaper in Nauvoo, Illinois on the orders of Joseph Smith. Smith and his brother Hyrum are jailed.
15 June 1844 Charles Goodyear patents a process for the vulcanization of rubber.
Frédéric Chopin (34) meets his sister Ludwika and her husband in Paris. They will be together for ten days and again later in the summer at Nohant. It is the happiest time of his life. George Sand tells her, “you are the best doctor he ever had.”
16 June 1844 Felix Mendelssohn (35) dines with Charles Dickens in London. The author has just completed Martin Chuzzlewit.
23 June 1844 Franz Liszt (32) appears as a pianist for the last time in Paris, at the Conservatoire.
25 June 1844 Variations in B flat op.83a for piano duet by Felix Mendelssohn (35) is performed for the first time, in London.
27 June 1844 Joseph Smith, founder of the Mormon Church, and his brother Hyrum are killed by a mob in the jail of Carthage, Illinois.
2 July 1844 Franz Liszt (32) gives the first of six concerts in Lyon, through 17 July.
3 July 1844 Representatives of China and the United States sign a commercial treaty in Wanghia, near Macao.
Icelanders Jón Brandsson and Sigurður Ísleifsson kill the last two known Great Auks (Pinguinus impennis) and destroy their egg on the island of Eldey.
5 July 1844 After attacking and occupying a Catholic church, nativist mobs battle soldiers for two days in the streets of Philadelphia. Over 20 people are killed.
6 July 1844 The Soldatenlied aus Goethes Faust for male chorus, trumpet and timpani by Franz Liszt (32) is performed for the first time.
11 July 1844 Felix Mendelssohn (35) leaves London to return to Germany to direct the Zweibrücken music festival at the end of July.
16 July 1844 Martin Chuzzlewit by Charles Dickens is published in book form. It has already been serialized.
22 July 1844 The Overture to Faust WWV 59 by Richard Wagner (31) is performed for the first time, in the Palais des Königlichen grossen Gartens, Dresden conducted by the composer. See 23 January 1855.
24 July 1844 Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka (40) arrives in Paris from Brussels. He is favorably impressed.
Today’s issue of the Neue Zeitschrift für Musik tells its readers that Oswald Lorenz will be replacing Robert Schumann (34) as editor on 1 July.
25 July 1844 Franz Liszt (32) gives the first of four concerts in Marseille, through 6 August.
31 July 1844 The first public art museum in the United States, the Wadsworth Atheneum, opens in Hartford, Connecticut.
1 August 1844 At the Festival de l’Industrie, Paris, Hector Berlioz (40) leads 1,000 performers in the premiere of his Hymne à la France for chorus and orchestra to words of Barbier. By intermission, Berlioz has developed cold sweats. He is induced to change clothes and drink punch. He is then attended by a former teacher, Dr. Amussat, who diagnoses typhoid, lets the composer’s blood, and prescribes a vacation.
3 August 1844 Johann Strauss (18) applies to the Vienna authorities for a license “to hold musical entertainments.”
Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte publishes his essay Extinction du paupérisme.
6 August 1844 When Morocco refuses to recognize the French conquest of Algeria and harbors Algerian resistance leaders, France begins hostilities against Morocco.
The second section of Les quatre élémens by Franz Liszt (32) to words of Autran is performed for the first time, in Marseille. See 28 March 1993.
10 August 1844 Albert Lortzing (42) begins his conducting career with a production of Mozart’s (†52) Don Giovanni in Leipzig. He is the new Kapellmeister of the Leipziger Stadttheater.
12 August 1844 Gruss seiner Treuen an Friedrich August den Geliebten WWV 71 for male chorus and wind band composed for the King of Saxony by Richard Wagner (31) is performed for the first time, on a riverboat at Pillnitz, near Dresden with 300 singers and 120 players.
13 August 1844 Franz Liszt (32) gives the first of three concerts in Montpellier.
14 August 1844 French troops defeat a combined Moroccan-Algerian force along the Isly River. This effectively ends the first war between France and Morocco.
Jacques Offenbach (25) marries Herminie d’Alcain, stepdaughter of Michael George Mitchel, an English acquaintance of the composer.
Robert Schumann (34) suffers an attack of colic, perhaps caused by anxiety, which will confine him to his home for three days.
18 August 1844 Ioannis Kolettis replaces Alexandros Nikolaou Mavrokordatos as Prime Minister of Greece.
28 August 1844 The Journal des Débats runs the first of 18 installments of The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas.
27 August 1844 Franz Liszt (32) gives the first of four concerts in Toulouse.
2 September 1844 Denn er hat seinen Engeln befohlen über dir for double chorus by Felix Mendelssohn (35) is performed for the first time, in Berlin.
5 September 1844 The City Council of Vienna grants Johann Strauss (18) the right to form an orchestra to play in restaurants.
7 September 1844 Franz Liszt (32) arrives in Bordeaux where he will give seven concerts through 2 October.
10 September 1844 The Treaty of Tangier ends war between France and Morocco. The border is defined and Morocco recognizes French authority in Algeria.
13 September 1844 Otto Nicolai (34) confides to his diary about the work of Giuseppe Verdi (30), “His operas are truly abominable, and bring Italy to the depths of degradation. I do not think Italy has any lower to sink than these works--and I should not now like to write any operas there.”
30 September 1844 King Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia gives Felix Mendelssohn (35) his freedom from conducting requirements provided he remains available for special commissions and occasional conducting.
3 October 1844 Robert (34) and Clara (25) Schumann go to Dresden to visit her father. In spite of his upset emotional condition, they decide to move there from Leipzig.
15 October 1844 Johann Strauss (18) debuts as conductor, in opposition to his father’s popularity, at Dommayer’s Casino, Heitzing with a program including first performances of the waltzes Sinngedichte op.1 and Gunst-Werber Waltz op.4 as well as the Debut Quadrille op.2 and Herzenslust Polka op.3. He is a complete success.
22 October 1844 On his 33rd birthday, Franz Liszt arrives in Madrid where he will give nine performances through 4 December.
On the final date endorsed by New York farmer and eccentric eschatologist William Miller and his followers for the end of the world, the world does not end.
24 October 1844 By the Treaty of Whampoa, China grants concessions to France, including toleration of Christianity.
The Rochdale Society for Equitable Pioneers is registered under the Friendly Societies Act by seven weavers. It will soon become the Rochdale Equitable Cooperative Society and lead to a national organization in Britain.
25 October 1844 The British ship John Bull docks in Hamburg and off loads the coffin carrying the mortal remains of Carl Maria von Weber (†18). They are to be transported up the Elbe for burial at Dresden.
3 November 1844 Giuseppe Verdi’s (31) tragedia lirica I due Foscari to words of Piave after Byron is performed for the first time, at Teatro Argentina, Rome. Verdi reports that it is a “mezzo-fiasco.”
7 November 1844 Franz Liszt (33) performs at the royal palace in Madrid. 14-year-old Queen Isabella II awards him the Cross of Carlos III.
16 November 1844 Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka (40) writes from Paris that his trip abroad is for three reasons, “to improve my health...to satisfy my curiosity...and...to acquire a certain fame and to establish relations with the well-known names of Europe.”
19 November 1844 The Serail-Tänze waltz op.5 and the Cytheren-Quadrille op.6 by Johann Strauss (19) are performed for the first time, in Dommayer’s Casino, Heitzing.
20 November 1844 According to the terms of sale, Robert Schumann (34) gives up ownership of the Neue Zeitschrift für Musik.
Trois choeurs religieux by Gioachino Rossini (52) to words of Goubaux, Lucas, and Colet is performed for the first time, at the Salle Troupenas, Paris.
23 November 1844 The Holstein estates vote for the independence of Schleswig and Holstein from Denmark.
30 November 1844 Freed from his obligations in the capital, Felix Mendelssohn (35) moves from Berlin to Frankfurt.
4 December 1844 A month of voting in the United States presidential election concluding today ensures the victory of former Governor of Tennessee James K. Polk over Senator Henry Clay.
5 December 1844 Clara Schumann (25) plays Beethoven’s (†17) Emperor Concerto in public for the first time, in the Leipzig Gewandhaus. It is “the hardest concerto I know.” It is her last performance there as a citizen of Leipzig. The Schumanns are moving to Dresden.
7 December 1844 Ein Feldlager in Schlesien, a singspiel by Giacomo Meyerbeer (53) to words of Scribe translated by Rellstab and Birch-Pfeiffer, is performed for the first time, at the opening of the Berlin Court Opera House. It is successful in Berlin but is too specific to have appeal outside Prussia. See 18 February 1847.
Publisher George Willig of Philadelphia copyrights a song called Open Thy Lattice Love to words of Morris. It is the first song composed by Stephen Foster (18) to be published.
8 December 1844 The Piano Quartet by Robert Schumann (34) is performed for the first time, at a farewell party for the Schumann family in Leipzig. Clara Schumann (25) plays the piano part.
13 December 1844 Robert (34) and Clara (25) Schumann leave Leipzig and move to Dresden.
14 December 1844 Trauermusik on motifs from Weber’s “Euryanthe” WWV 73 for wind band by Richard Wagner (31) is performed for the first time, to accompany the remains of Carl Maria von Weber (†18) to reburial in Dresden. It is directed by the composer.
15 December 1844 An Webers Grabe WWV 72 for male chorus by Richard Wagner (31) is performed for the first time, as the mortal remains of Carl Maria von Weber (†18) are reinterred in Dresden. It is directed by the composer.
21 December 1844 A newly formed committee in Dresden publishes a request for donations to a Weber (†18) monument in the Deutsche Allgemeine Zeitung. The last name on the committee list is the local Kapellmeister, Richard Wagner (31).
27 December 1844 After visiting the grave of Weber (†18) in Dresden, Robert Schumann (34) is overcome with grief and suffers a “violent nervous attack.” He will seek medical help for his psychological condition.
28 December 1844 Johan Nordenfalk replaces Lars Herman Gyllenhaal as Prime Minister for Justice of Sweden.
©2004-2012 Paul Scharfenberger
10 July 2012
Last Updated (Tuesday, 10 July 2012 04:55)