1856
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1 January 1856 Prohibition again goes into effect in New Brunswick. It will soon bring down the government and again be repealed.
Incidental music to von Mosenthal’s play Der Goldschmeid von Ulm by Heinrich August Marschner (60) is performed for the first time, in the Königliches Sächsisches Hoftheater, Dresden. The audience is enthusiastic.
5 January 1856 The Russian government accepts the Vienna peace plan but rejects one point. Since the allies required unconditional acceptance, Austria informs Russia that relations will be broken on 18 January.
6 January 1856 Charles Gounod (37) is named a Chevalier of the Legion of Honor.
7 January 1856 Armen-Ball-Polka op.176 by Johann Strauss (30) is performed for the first time, in Schwender’s Collosseum, Vienna.
8 January 1856 Erhöhte Pulse op.175, a waltz by Johann Strauss (30), is performed for the first time, in the Sophiensaal, Vienna.
14 January 1856 Juristen-Ball-Tänze op.177, a waltz by Johann Strauss (30), is performed for the first time, in the Sophiensaal, Vienna.
15 January 1856 Tsar Alyeksandr agrees to the allied peace plan unconditionally.
19 January 1856 Béranger à l’Académie, a poésie by Houssaye with music by Jacques Offenbach (36), is performed for the first time, at the Bouffes-Parisiens, Paris.
20 January 1856 Sarabande in b minor for piano solo WoO 5/2 by Johannes Brahms (22) is performed for the first time, in Vienna.
21 January 1856 Sans-Souci-Polka op.178 by Johann Strauss (30) is performed for the first time, in Schwender’s Collosseum, Vienna.
25 January 1856 A final examination for post of cathedral organist in Linz is won by Anton Bruckner (31). It is his first professional musical appointment. See 13 November 1855.
27 January 1856 In Vienna, Franz Liszt (44) conducts performances of music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (†64) on the 100th anniversary of Mozart’s birth.
28 January 1856 Abschieds-Rufe op.179, a waltz by Johann Strauss (30), is performed for the first time, in the Sophiensaal, Vienna.
29 January 1856 A Royal Warrant establishes the Victoria Cross for gallantry in battle. The material for the medals is taken from guns captured from the Russians in the Crimean War.
Libellen op.180, a waltz by Johann Strauss (30), is performed for the first time, in the Sophiensaal, Vienna.
1 February 1856 The warring parties agree in Vienna to convene a peace conference three weeks hence.
6 February 1856 Le spectre de la rose for alto and orchestra by Hector Berlioz (52) to words of Gautier is performed for the first time, in Gotha.
9 February 1856 Giuseppe Verdi (42) receives the title of Cavalier Knight of the Order of St. Maurizio and St. Lazzaro from King Vittorio Emanuele II of Sardinia.
Un postillon en gage, an operetta by Jacques Offenbach (36) to words of Adenis, is performed for the first time, at the Bouffes-Parisiens, Paris.
13 February 1856 Great Britain annexes Oudh (Awadh, Uttar Pradesh) despite Indian opposition.
17 February 1856 Heinrich Heine dies in Paris at the age of 58.
18 February 1856 Sultan Abdülaziz I, under European duress, issues the Second Ottoman Reform Act, which, among other things, forbids discrimination against non-Moslems.
19 February 1856 North American adventurer William Walker forces his man, President Patricio Rivas of Nicaragua, to sign a contract with Charles Morgan and Cornelius Garrison for transit and other concessions. It is so unfavorable to Nicaragua that Rivas refused to sign until the more egregious provisions were changed.
21 February 1856 Preliminary meetings before the Crimea peace conference begin in Paris.
22 February 1856 Delegates to an anti-slavery convention in Pittsburgh meet to call for the formation of a national anti-slavery party.
23 February 1856 Manon Lescaut by Daniel-François-Esprit Auber (74) to words of Scribe after Prévost is performed for the first time, at the Théâtre Favart, Paris.
24 February 1856 Mily Balakirev (19) makes his St. Petersburg debut as soloist in the premiere of the first movement of his own Piano Concerto in f# minor in a performance at the university.
Hector Berlioz (52) manages to make it all the way through a performance of Lohengrin conducted by Franz Liszt (44) in Weimar. At his first try, a few days ago, Berlioz left in the middle of Act II. The two friends do not talk about it very much, although Berlioz is free in expressing his disdain to others. Although Liszt and Berlioz remain friends, it will never be the same.
25 February 1856 13:00 An international conference to end the Crimean War officially opens in the Quai d’Orsay, Paris.
28 February 1856 La Gaselle: Andante élégant for piano solo by Louis Moreau Gottschalk (26) is performed for the first time, in New York, the composer at the keyboard.
1 March 1856 Costa Rican forces invade Nicaragua against the North American William Walker and his man President Patricio Rivas. Despite early victories, the offensive will fizzle due to cholera among the invaders.
5 March 1856 04:55 Fire breaks out in the Covent Garden Opera House, London and takes 30 minutes to destroy the building.
12 March 1856 In Milan, Giacomo Meyerbeer (64) is awakened by the chorus and orchestra of Teatro alla Scala serenading him outside his window. They perform selections from Le prophète with each section followed by applause from listeners. Meyerbeer is obliged to acknowledge their tribute.
16 March 1856 Eugène Louis Jean Joseph is born in Paris, son of Emperor Napoléon III and Empress Eugènie. The Prince Imperial is a grand nephew of Napoléon I, thus ensuring the Bonaparte line.
19 March 1856 Giacomo Meyerbeer (63) is nominated an honorary member of the Società Filarmonica Apollinea di Venezia.
Le Berceau, a cantata by Jacques Offenbach (36) to words of Dupeuty, is performed for the first time, at the Bouffes-Parisiens, Paris.
20 March 1856 Stanislaw Moniuszko’s (36) Madonna for baritone, chorus and orchestra to words of Petrarch is performed for the first time, in St. Petersburg.
23 March 1856 By this date, Richard Wagner (42) has completed the full score of Die Walküre.
24 March 1856 The new Théâtre de la Monnaie opens in Brussels. See 21 January 1855.
30 March 1856 After a month of negotiation, representatives of Austria, France, Great Britain, the Ottoman Empire, Sardinia, Prussia, and Russia sign the Treaty of Paris ending the Crimean War. Russia gives up claims to Bessarabia to Moldavia and frees the Danube to all ships. The Black Sea is demilitarized.
2 April 1856 La Paix du monde, a cantata by Jacques Offenbach (36) to words of Halévy, is performed for the first time, at the Bouffe-Parisiennes, Paris.
3 April 1856 Scherzo no.1 in b minor by Mily Balakirev (19) is performed for the first time, in St. Petersburg, the composer at the keyboard.
Trombalcazar, ou Les criminels dramatiques, a bouffonerie musicale by Jacques Offenbach (36) to words of Dupeuty and Bourget, is performed for the first time, at the Bouffes-Parisiens, Paris.
6 April 1856 After graduating from the Academy of Physicians, Alyeksandr Borodin (22) is appointed “medical practitioner” at the Second Military Hospital, St. Petersburg. In this capacity he will meet a young duty officer assigned to the hospital from the Preobrazhensky Regiment: Modest Musorgsky (17).
17 April 1856 The newly orchestrated Molitva for voice, chorus and orchestra by Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka (51) to words of Lermontov is performed for the first time, in Malyi Theatre, Moscow.
11 April 1856 While asserting that he does not intend to end serfdom at present, Tsar Alyeksandr II states that eventually, the system will have to end.
William Walker leads his North American mercenaries against Costa Ricans at Rivas, Nicaragua. They manage to enter the town, but are beaten back. Unfortunately for the victors, cholera will soon break out, causing the Costa Ricans to withdraw.
14 April 1856 Clara Schumann (36) makes her London debut playing Beethoven’s (†29) Emperor Concerto in the Hanover Square Rooms. “A positive sensation, even among those who are moved with difficulty.”
15 April 1856 A treaty is concluded in Paris between Austria, France, and Great Britain which guarantees the integrity of the Ottoman Empire.
22 April 1856 The first railroad bridge over the Mississippi River goes into operation as three locomotives and eight passenger cars pass from Rock Island, Illinois and Davenport, Iowa.
25 April 1856 Anton Bruckner (31) is officially appointed permanent organist at Linz Cathedral.
26 April 1856 In Zürich, Richard Wagner (42) plays and sings through the first act of Die Walküre for friends. Businessman Otto Wesendonck is so taken by it that he decides to forward 250 francs a month to the composer so that he may complete the work unhindered.
Valentine d’Aubigny, an opéra comique by Fromental Halévy (56) to words of Barbier and Carré, is performed for the first time, at the Théâtre Favart, Paris.
28 April 1856 Indians attack an army camp on the Illinois River in Josephine County, Oregon. One-third of the unit are killed before reinforcements arrive and drive the Indians away.
2 May 1856 Präludium und Fuge über das Motiv B.A.C.H. for organ by Franz Liszt (44) is performed for the first time, in Merseburg, in the presence of the composer.
3 May 1856 Adolph-Charles Adam dies in Paris, aged 52 years, eight months and nine days.
8 May 1856 A day before his departure from St. Petersburg, Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka (51) gives a young composer a photograph of himself with the inscription, “To Mily Alyekseyevich Balakirev (19), in remembrance, from a true admirer of his talent. Mikhail Glinka.”
9 May 1856 Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka (51) leaves St. Petersburg on his last trip abroad. As he reaches the city gates he gets out of his carriage to say goodbye to his sister. He spits on the ground and says, “May I never see this vile country again.”
11 May 1856 Franz Liszt (44) and Hans von Bülow meet in Merseburg and discuss a marriage between von Bülow and Liszt’s daughter, Cosima.
14 May 1856 Anton Bruckner (31) officially enters duties as organist at Linz Cathedral.
US President Franklin Pierce recognizes the Nicaraguan dictatorship of William Walker.
16 May 1856 Russalka, an opera by Ayeksandr Sergeyevich Dargomizhsky (43) to his own words after Pushkin, is performed for the first time, in St. Petersburg.
20 May 1856 David Livingstone reaches Quelimane, Portuguese East Africa (Mozambique), having traveled for six months from Linyanti.
21 May 1856 Armed members of the pro-slavery party sack Lawrence, Kansas, seat of the anti-slavery territorial government.
22 May 1856 The Parliament of the Colony of New South Wales meets for the first time.
One day after making a vigorous anti-slavery speech in the United States Senate, Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts is viciously caned at his desk on the Senate floor by Representative Preston Brooks of South Carolina. Brooks is finally subdued by other Senators.
24 May 1856 Opponents of slavery led by John Brown kill five pro-slavery settlers on the Pottawatomie Creek, Kansas, 75 km south of Kansas City in retaliation for the action at Lawrence three days ago.
27 May 1856 Tsar Alyeksandr II declares an amnesty for Polish insurgents.
The US government expels the British minister in Washington and three British consuls because Britain continues to recruit Americans for their army, in violation of US law.
28 May 1856 Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka (51) arrives in Berlin, three weeks after leaving St. Petersburg.
31 May 1856 Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka (51) writes to his sister that he plans to stay in Berlin indefinitely.
3 June 1856 Hector Berlioz (52) applies for a chair at the French Institute for the sixth time.
5 June 1856 French forces complete their removal from the Crimea.
6 June 1856 Nuno José Severo de Mendoça Rolim de Moura Bareto, marquês de Loulé, conde de Vale de Reis replaces João Carlos Gregório Domingues Vicente Francisco de Saldanha Oliveira e Daun, duque, marques e conde de Saldanha as Prime Minister of Portugal.
7 June 1856 Louis Moreau Gottschalk (27) gives the last of a series of 16 concerts this Winter and Spring at Dodworth’s Hall, New York. They are so successful that during the run, 200 seats have been added to the hall, and patrons seated on the stage.
8 June 1856 Many residents of the Pitcairn Islands are resettled on Norfolk Island.
12 June 1856 British forces complete their removal from the Crimea.
La rose de Saint-Flour, an operetta by Jacques Offenbach (36) to words of Carré, is performed for the first time, by the Bouffes-Parisiens at Salle Marigny, Paris, to celebrate the christening of the new Prince-Imperial.
18 June 1856 Les dragées du baptême by Jacques Offenbach (36) to words of Dupeuty and Bourget is performed for the first time, by the Bouffes-Parisiens at Salle Marigny, Paris.
19 June 1856 The first national convention of the Republican Party of the United States concludes in Philadelphia. The new anti-slavery party has nominated John C. Fremont for president.
20 June 1856 Prince Florestan of Monaco dies in Paris and is succeeded by his son, Charles III.
21 June 1856 Hector Berlioz (52) is elected to the French Institute on his sixth attempt. He fills the seat vacated by the death of Adolphe Adam. The enfant terrible of the 1820s and 30s has joined the establishment.
24 June 1856 The music store owned by Jacob Small Paine (father of John Knowles Paine (17)) in Portland, Maine, is destroyed by fire.
26 June 1856 Großfürstin Alexandra Waltz op.181 by Johann Strauss (30) is performed for the first time, in Pavlovsk.
29 June 1856 An election in Nicaragua is held today. Very few citizens take part. It will be claimed that North American adventurer William Walker has won by a large margin in a massive turnout.
1 July 1856 Justinus Jacob Leonard van der Bruggen replaces Floris Adriaan van Hall and Dirk Donker Curtius as chief minister of the Netherlands.
4 July 1856 Arthur Sullivan (14) wins the Mendelssohn Scholarship. The prize brings one tuition-free year at the Royal Academy of Music.
8 July 1856 Charles E. Barnes of Lowell, Massachusetts receives the first patent for a machine gun.
11 July 1856 North American adventurer William Walker is inaugurated President of Nicaragua, in spite of the fact that he is not eligible under the constitution.
12 July 1856 Austria declares an amnesty for the Hungarian separatists of 1848-49.
13 July 1856 A Fantaisie (I) in C for organ by César Franck (33) is performed for the first time, at the Cavaillé-Coll studio, Paris by the composer.
14 July 1856 Queen Isabella II of Spain dismisses her prime minister, Joaquín Baldomero Fernández Espartero, duque de la Victoria, and installs General Leopoldo O´Donnell Joris, conde de Lucena, a rightist, in opposition to the parliamentary majority. He will enforce his rule by arms.
After Clara Schumann (36) learns that Robert (46) has spent the last two weeks picking names out of an atlas, and that swollen feet have confined him to bed, she goes to the insane asylum at Endenich to see for herself. As always, Dr. Franz Richarz refuses to allow her to see him, although he does inform her that her husband has less than a year to live.
15 July 1856 Natal is created a separate British crown colony with an elected assembly.
16 July 1856 Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras agree to join forces to support the Nicaraguan government of Patricio Rivas in opposition to the North American adventurer William Walker, who was named president last month. They will soon be joined by Costa Rica.
21 July 1856 A musical play opens in New York entitled Nicaragua, or General Walker’s Victories. It praises the virtues of William Walker and his attempts to extend slavery into Central America.
23 July 1856 Clara Schumann (36) is summoned to Endenich as Robert Schumann (46) is not expected to live much longer. The crisis, however, will pass and she will return to Düsseldorf unable to see him.
27 July 1856 Clara Schumann (36) returns to Endenich to see her husband (46) for the first time in two-and-a-half years. He appears to recognize her but can not communicate.
28 July 1856 Clara Schumann (36) and Johannes Brahms (23) begin a constant vigil outside the room of Robert Schumann (46) in Endenich. “He smiled, and put his arm round me with a great effort, for he can no longer control his limbs. I shall never forget it. Not all the treasures in the world could equal this embrace.”
29 July 1856 16:00 Robert Schumann dies at Dr. Richarz’ insane asylum in Endenich just outside Bonn, aged 46 years, one month and 21 days. No one is in the room at the moment of his death as Clara (36) has gone to town to meet the arrival of Joseph Joachim. Although the immediate cause of death is pneumonia, he has been suffering from tertiary syphillis. “All my feelings were absorbed in thankfulness to God that he was at last set free, and as I kneeled by his bed I was filled with awe, it was as if his holy spirit was hovering over me--Ah! if only he had taken me with him.”
30 July 1856 Dr. Franz Richarz carries out an autopsy on the body of Robert Schumann in Endenich, near Bonn.
31 July 1856 19:00 The mortal remains of Robert Schumann are laid to rest in the Alter Friedhof, Bonn in the presence of family members, Johannes Brahms (23) and Joseph Joachim, but without great ceremony. Clara Schumann (36) does not accompany the coffin to the cemetery, remaining in the chapel, weeping and praying. As the small funeral procession winds through Bonn, ordinary citizens stream towards the street. The poet Klaus Groth will remember, “…it was as if the people of Bonn, quite suddenly and involuntarily, had felt the message run through their minds that one of the noblest of Germans was on his last journey.”
Le “66”, an operetta by Jacques Offenbach (37) to words of de Forges and Chapelle (under the pseudonym Laurencin), is performed for the first time, by the Bouffes-Parisiens at Salle Marigny, Paris.
6 August 1856 The Allegheny Buchanan Glee Club is founded in Pittsburgh to aid the presidential candidacy of James Buchanan. Buchanan’s brother Edward is married to the sister of the group’s musical director, Stephen Foster (30).
8 August 1856 Riots take place in Lisbon protesting the price of food.
11 August 1856 Free Soilers raid Franklin, Kansas, a pro-slavery stronghold. Part of the town is put to the torch.
14 August 1856 The polka L’Inconnue op.182 and the waltz Krönungslieder op.184 by Johann Strauss (30), are performed for the first time, in Pavlosvsk.
15 August 1856 The Spanish National Militia is dissolved.
An explanation of his new process to produce inexpensive steel is published in The Engineer by British metallurgist Henry Bessemer.
19 August 1856 Gail Borden of Brooklyn, New York receives a US patent for condensed milk.
26 August 1856 18-year-old chemistry student William Perkin receives a British patent for mauveine, which he developed earlier this year. It is the first synthetic dye.
31 August 1856 Franz Liszt’s (44) Missa solemnis zur Einweihung der Basilika in Gran for solo voices, chorus and orchestra is performed for the first time, in Gran (Esztergom), 40 km northwest of Pest. 4,000 people, including Emperor Franz Joseph II and many dignitaries of state and church, are present for the consecration.
3 September 1856 Encouraged by King Friedrich Wilhelm of Prussia, royalists in the Swiss canton of Neuchâtel occupy the castle. Republicans in the canton rally and put down the revolt, taking the royalists prisoner.
5 September 1856 Grand Duke Ludwig II of Baden is removed from the throne and replaced by his brother, Friedrich I.
The first of several decrees by “President” William Walker of Nicaragua is announced. These decrees will impose prison terms for anyone not employed or actively seeking employment, institute indentured servitude, require land registration, and make English equal to Spanish in official use. This last will require Nicaraguans to compete with North Americans for land, in English.
8 September 1856 Elias Lagerheim replaces Gustaf Nils Algernon Stierneld as Prime Minister for Foreign Affairs of Sweden.
The publication of Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka’s (52) Solemn Polonaise in versions for orchestra, two-hand piano and four-hand piano is advertised. The work is performed today at a ball in Moscow celebrating the coronation of Tsar Alyeksandr II.
Hungaria, a symphonic poem by Franz Liszt (44) is performed for the first time, in the National Theatre, Pest, directed by the composer. It is an enormous success.
14 September 1856 A force of North American “Walkerites” assault a Nicaraguan force on San Jacinto hill near Tipitapa. They are repulsed in great confusion.
15 September 1856 Ignacio Gregorio Comonfort de los Ríos replaces Juan Alvarez as President of Mexico.
20 September 1856 During celebrations in Helsinki for the coronation of the new Tsar, Professor FL Schauman expresses the hope that the new Tsar will call the Finnish Parliament.
21 September 1856 Arthur Sullivan (14) begins his studies at the Royal Academy of Music.
22 September 1856 “President” William Walker of Nicaragua decrees that all laws held over from the old Central American Federation are void. This is intended to reintroduce slavery.
23 September 1856 Le financier et le savetier, an operetta by Jacques Offenbach (37) to words of Crémieux and About, is performed for the first time, at the Bouffes-Parisiens, Paris.
24 September 1856 A Nicaraguan force, followed by their Central American allies, enters Managua. “Walkerites” abandoned the town.
25 September 1856 Claës Efraim Günther replaces Gustaf Sparre as Prime Minister for Justice of Sweden.
Krönungs-Marsch op.183 by Johann Strauss (30) is performed for the first time, in Pavlovsk.
26 September 1856 Three months after the destruction of his shop by fire, Jacob Small Paine dies in Portland, Maine at the age of 46. The family will now have to be supported by his son, John Knowles Paine (17).
1 October 1856 The Revue de Paris publishes the first installment of Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert. The publisher refuses to include a section describing Emma’s adulterous affair in the back seat of a cab.
3 October 1856 Sigismond Thalberg (44) arrives in New York aboard the steamship Africa for an extended tour of North America.
7 October 1856 A setting of the Ave Maria (I) in F for soloists, chorus, cello and organ by Anton Bruckner (32) is performed for the first time, at St. Florian.
8 October 1856 The British-flagged ship Arrow is boarded by Chinese agents in Canton who arrest her entire crew of 14 Chinese. This leads to war with Great Britain and France united against China.
11 October 1856 William Walker leads an assault on Masaya, Nicaragua. While the engagement continues, Nicaraguan troops attack Walker’s capital at Granada. He breaks off the Masaya attack to relieve Granada.
Giacomo Meyerbeer (64) is nominated a foreign member of the Accademia dell’Arte in Florence.
12 October 1856 Ramón María Narváez y Campos, duque de Valencia replaces General Leopoldo O’Donnell Joris, conde de Lucena as Prime Minister of Spain.
13 October 1856 Strelna Terrassen-Quadrille op.185 by Johann Strauss (30) is performed for the first time, in Pavlovsk.
14 October 1856 La bonne d’enfants, an operetta by Jacques Offenbach (37) to words of Bercioux, is performed for the first time, at the Bouffes-Parisiens, Paris.
Louis Moreau Gottschalk (27) premieres his Grande Valse poétique concertante for voice and piano in Philadelphia.
16 October 1856 Bedrich Smetana (32) arrives in Göteborg, Sweden in hopes of employment as a piano teacher.
18 October 1856 Carl Christopher Georg Andrae replaces Peter Georg Bang as Prime Minister of Denmark.
20 October 1856 Modest Musorgsky (17) is enrolled as an officer in the regiment of the Preobrazhensky Guards.
22 October 1856 In celebration of the 45th birthday of Franz Liszt, Richard Wagner (43) and a young soprano perform the first act of Die Walküre before an assembled group in the Hotel Baur au Lac, Zürich. Liszt accompanies them at the keyboard.
23 October 1856 Bedrich Smetana (32) gives a piano recital in Göteborg at Blom Assembly Room and is recognized as a piano virtuoso.
24 October 1856 Responsible government is granted to South Australia.
28 October 1856 The Royal Navy begins a bombardment of Canton.
With seven children to support, Clara Schumann (37) gives her first concert after her husband’s death, in Karlsruhe.
29 October 1856 British forces fight their way into Canton but their force is too small to hold it and they return to their ships.
1 November 1856 After Persia occupies Herat, Great Britain declares war on Persia.
3 November 1856 A British fleet begins a two-day bombardment of Canton.
4 November 1856 Voting in the United States presidential election ensures the victory of Ambassador James Buchanan of Pennsylvania over former Senator John C. Fremont of California.
10 November 1856 Sigismond Thalberg (44) gives his first concert in the United States, at Niblo’s Saloon, New York. Originally scheduled for 20 October, it was postponed due to the presidential election. He will perform five or six nights a week for the next eight months.
16 November 1856 Two US warships sail up the Pearl River and attack forts guarding Canton. They manage to silence the Chinese guns.
17 November 1856 Their two warships in the Pearl River having run aground, Americans ask the Chinese for a cease-fire.
19 November 1856 North American adventurer “President” William Walker of Nicaragua abandons his capital of Granada, save for 300 soldiers. Walker and the rest of the mercenaries retreat to Rivas. Those left behind, acting on Walker’s orders, begin to destroy Granada, looting and burning.
20 November 1856 US forces manage to capture the barrier forts guarding Canton.
Louis Moreau Gottschalk (27) and Sigismund Thalberg (44) perform Thalberg’s Fantasy on Norma for two pianos, four hands at the Academy of Music, New York.
23 November 1856 Franz Liszt (45) conducts two of his symphonic poems, Les Preludes and Orpheus, at a concert at St. Gall, Switzerland. Richard Wagner (43), who conducts the Eroica Symphony on the same program, is enormously impressed with both of them, and calls Orpheus “a totally unique masterpiece of the highest perfection.”
24 November 1856 In an attempt to save Granada, Nicaragua from destruction, allied Central American troops attack the mercenaries in the city. Unfortunately, friction between the various groups in the coalition will delay the capture of the city into mid-December.
1 December 1856 Bedrich Smetana (32) opens a music school in Göteborg and attracts more students than he can enroll.
Mustafa Resid Pasha replaces Mehmed Emin Ali Pasha as Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire.
2 December 1856 The Parliament of Van Diemen’s Land meets for the first time, in Hobart. They will shortly change the name of the colony to Tasmania.
A treaty is signed in Bayonne between France and Spain defining their border.
Opposing Zulu factions engage in the Battle of Ndondakusuka (Tugela River). Forces of Cetewayo, son of the former King Mpande, defeat his uncle Mbulazi. All of the vanquished who survive the fighting are executed.
16 December 1856 Richard Wagner (43) writes that his friendship with Franz Liszt (45) is the most significant event in his life.
The first concert by Sigismond Thalberg (44) in Washington is attended by President Franklin Pierce.
17 December 1856 President Franklin Pierce welcomes Sigismond Thalberg (44) to the White House for a private reception. The president signs Thalberg’s autograph book.
23 December 1856 Between Hong Kong and Canton, the Chinese crew and passengers of the British mail steamer Thistle, actually members of the Chinese volunteer militia in disguise, overpower the eleven British on board, behead them, and set the ship afire.
24 December 1856 Costa Rican troops defeat Walkerites at Hipps Point on the San Juan River, Nicaragua.
26 December 1856 Sigisumund Thalberg (44) and Louis Moreau Gottschalk (27) perform a joint farewell concert in Niblo’s Saloon, New York. Thalberg is leaving for New England while Gottschalk is about to begin a concert tour of Cuba. They premiere a Grand Duo di bravura on Il Trovatore.
©2004-2012 Paul Scharfenberger
11 August 2012
Last Updated (Saturday, 11 August 2012 05:19)