1826
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1 January 1826 Argentina declares war on Brazil over Uruguay.
5 January 1826 Franz Liszt (14) gives the first of four performances this month at the Grand Théâtre, Bordeaux.
6 January 1826 Franz Schubert’s (28) Galop und 8 Ecossaises D.735 for orchestra is performed for the first time, in the Saal zu den 7. Churfürsten in Pest.
7 January 1826 Alahor in Granata, a dramma by Gaetano Donizetti (28) is performed for the first time, in the Teatro Carolino, Palermo.
10 January 1826 Franz Schubert (28) attends a party at the Vienna home of Franz von Schober. Eduard von Bauernfeld has invited the poet Johann Gabriel Seidl in an effort to rejoin Schubert with Seidl. Within a few weeks Schubert will compose the first of eleven songs he will write to Seidl’s words.
12 January 1826 Rastlose Liebe D.138, a song by Franz Schubert (28) to words of Goethe, is performed for the first time, in the Vienna Musikverein.
14 January 1826 Royalist forces on the island of Chiloé surrender, allowing for the island to be annexed to Chile.
24 January 1826 The Creek Indians sign a treaty with the United States in Washington. It supersedes the treaty of last February and is slightly more favorable towards the Creeks. However, the State of Georgia will abridge the treaty and force all Creeks out of the state.
30 January 1826 The Menai Bridge opens connecting Anglesey with the mainland of Wales. It is the largest suspension bridge to date, with a suspended span of 176 meters and a clearance of 30 meters.
1 February 1826 String Quartet “Tod und das Mädchen” D.810 by Franz Schubert (29) is performed for the first time, at the home of Josef Barth, Vienna. See 12 March 1833.
4 February 1826 The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper is published in Philadelphia.
8 February 1826 The second setting of Sehnsucht, a song by Franz Schubert (29) to words of Schiller, is published by Pennauer as his op.39.
11 February 1826 London University (University College London) is founded as a secular institution.
12 February 1826 Fryderyk Chopin (15) receives a cure for swollen lymph glands: application of leeches to the neck.
16 February 1826 Against the advice of his wife and friends, Carl Maria von Weber (39), ill with tuberculosis, departs Dresden for London to direct the premiere of Oberon. As he leaves, his wife believes that she will never see him again.
17 February 1826 Abschied von der Erde D.829, a melodrama for speaker and piano by Franz Schubert (29) to words of von Pratobevera, is performed for the first time, at the Vienna home of Karl Josef von Pratobevera.
22 February 1826 Incidental music to von Uechtritz’s play Alexander und Darius by Heinrich August Marschner (30) is performed for the first time, in Dresden.
24 February 1826 The Treaty of Yandabo ends the first war between Great Britain and Burma. The Burmese are forced to pay an indemnity. Arakan, Tenasserim, Manipur, Assam and the Burmese coastline are annexed to British India. Pegu is returned to Burma.
25 February 1826 On the way to London, Carl Maria von Weber (39) arrives in Paris. During his stay in the city he will meet Luigi Cherubini (65), Daniel-François-Esprit Auber (44), Gioacchino Rossini (33), Ferdinando Paer and Charles-Simon Catel. Hector Berlioz (22), who idolizes Weber, seeks out the German but is unable to find him. Rossini, observing Weber’s terrible health, tries to talk him out of going on to London.
2 March 1826 Johann Simon Mayr (62) steps down as President of the Ateneo, Bergamo.
3 March 1826 Carl Maria von Weber (39) suffers a seizure in Calais due to wet weather.
4 March 1826 Carl Maria von Weber (39) crosses the Channel from Calais to Dover.
5 March 1826 Carl Maria von Weber (39) reaches London.
9 March 1826 Rehearsals for Oberon begin at Covent Garden under the direction of the composer, Carl Maria von Weber (39).
10 March 1826 King João VI of Portugal dies and is succeeded by his son Emperor Pedro I of Brazil, who rules Portugal as Pedro IV.
15 March 1826 Franz Liszt (14) gives the first of two concerts in two days at Nîmes.
18 March 1826 After a concert in London, Carl Maria von Weber (39) is invited to a supper. He coughs a considerable amount of blood in the carriage and is carried up the steps.
21 March 1826 String Quartet op.130 (with the Grosse Fuge) by Ludwig van Beethoven (55) is performed for the first time, in Vienna. The response is mixed. See 22 April 1827.
25 March 1826 Samuel Sebastian Wesley (15) is appointed organist at St. James’ Chapel, Hampstead Road, London.
26 March 1826 Through the agency of Sir George Smart, a Dr. Severin goes to see Carl Maria von Weber (39) in London. The doctor tells Weber not to worry and prescribes pills and a rabbit skin to be put on his chest.
A constitution for Brazil is promulgated. It provides for a hereditary monarchy and a bicameral parliament.
1 April 1826 Captain Samuel Morey of Orford, New Hampshire receives a US patent for an internal combustion engine.
2 April 1826 A concert to benefit Valentin Alkan (12) takes place in the Pape showroom, Paris. It is his debut as pianist and composer.
4 April 1826 An agreement is reached between Great Britain, represented by the Duke of Wellington, and Tsar Nikolay I of Russia. The Protocol of St. Petersburg authorizes Britain to offer mediation between Greece and the Turks. The goal is to make Greece a “tributary state” of the Ottoman Empire with a certain degree of autonomy.
5 April 1826 Publication of the Rondo brillant op.109 for piano by Johann Nepomuk Hummel (47) is announced in the Wiener Zeitung.
Seven Songs to Words of Scott op.52 by Franz Schubert (29) are published by Artaria.
6 April 1826 The Philharmonic Society elects Carl Maria von Weber (39) its first honorary member.
Three songs by Franz Schubert (29) are published by Weigl as his op.57: Der Schmetterling and Die Berge to words of von Schlegel, and the first setting of An den Mond to words of Hölty. Weigl also publishes three of Schubert’s songs to words of Schiller as his op.56 (later corrected to op.58): Hektors Abschied, An Emma and the second setting of Des Mädchens Klage.
Franz Liszt (14) gives the first of six concerts this month in Marseille.
7 April 1826 Franz Schubert (29) petitions Emperor Franz to be appointed Vice-Director of the Imperial Court Chapel. He will eventually fail.
8 April 1826 In Arlington, Virginia US Secretary of State Henry Clay and Senator John Randolph of Virginia fight a duel over Randolph’s accusations about Clay’s Latin America policies. Neither is injured.
12 April 1826 Oberon, a romantic opera by Carl Maria von Weber (39) to words of Planché after Wieland, is performed for the first time, in Covent Garden, London. As the composer arrives to conduct the premiere he receives a standing ovation with cheering and waving. The overture and each number are encored, some twice.
22 April 1826 Egyptian forces capture Messolongi, 200 km west of Athens, after a long siege.
24 April 1826 Weavers begin three days of rioting in eastern Lancashire over low wages and high prices. 21 factories will be attacked, over 1,000 looms destroyed.
26 April 1826 A liberal constitution is promulgated in Portugal providing for a hereditary monarchy and a bicameral Cortes.
Militia guarding a factory in Chatterton fire on rioting weavers. Six of the workers are killed.
28 April 1826 A concert take place in Paris with proceeds going to relief of Greek patriots. Gioachino Rossini (34) conducted rehearsals.
29 April 1826 King Pedro IV of Portugal signs the constitutional charter and announces his intention to abdicate in favor of his seven-year-old daughter Maria da Glória. He names his brother Miguel regent, if he promises to marry Maria and if he accepts the new constitution.
A seriously ill Carl Maria von Weber (39) attends the premiere of Bishop’s Alladin at Drury Lane. As he enters, the house rises. During the “Huntsmen’s Chorus” the audience whistles Weber’s chorus of the same name.
A farewell concert is given at Boylston Hall, Boston for Anton Philipp Heinrich (45).
2 May 1826 Emperor Pedro I of Brazil waives his right to the Portuguese throne in favor of his daughter Maria de Gloria.
The United States recognizes the Peruvian Republic.
4 May 1826 Confitebor tibi, Domine for solo voices, chorus and orchestra by Samuel Wesley (60) is performed for the first time, in the Argyll Rooms, London.
6 May 1826 A building for the Senate of Brazil opens in Rio de Janeiro in the presence of Emperor Pedro. It will be used for the next 98 years.
16 May 1826 Maria Szymanowska (36) gives her last concert in London. She will return to Warsaw.
17 May 1826 Sigismund Thalberg (14) gives his first public performance in London.
23 May 1826 Franz Liszt (14) gives the first of three concerts in the Salle de Bourse, Lyon.
25 May 1826 Giacomo Meyerbeer (34) marries his cousin Minna Mosson in Berlin. They immediately leave for Paris where he will work on a new opera.
The independent Republic of Cospaia is divided by Tuscany and the Papal States.
26 May 1826 Carl Maria von Weber’s (39) song From Chindara’s Warbling Fount I Come J.308 to words of Moore is performed for the first time, in London. It is his last composition. The composer was too ill to finish the accompaniment so he improvises it as it is performed. Ignaz Moscheles will later write down what he remembers of Weber’s interpolation. After the concert, Weber collapses on a sofa. A mustard plaster will be applied to his chest.
30 May 1826 Bianca e Gernando, a melodramma by Vincenzo Bellini (24) to words of Gilardoni after Roti, is performed for the first time, in Teatro San Carlo, Naples before the royal family on the name day of King Ferdinando. It will receive 25 performances this season and will later be staged as Bianca e Fernando.
Carl Maria von Weber (39) makes his last public appearance, at a benefit for Mary Anne Paton, in London.
2 June 1826 Le timide, ou Le nouveau séducteur, an opéra comique by Daniel François Esprit Auber (44) to words of Scribe and Saintine, is performed for the first time, in Théâtre Feydeau, Paris.
5 June 1826 One day before his planned return home to Dresden, servants in the house of Sir George Smart, London, call to wake their guest, Carl Maria von Weber. They can not raise him, so the door is broken in. The composer is found dead in his bed, at the age of 39 years, six months, and approximately 18 days, the victim of the effects of tuberculosis.
9 June 1826 Giacomo Meyerbeer (34), in Paris, learns of the death of his old friend, Carl Maria von Weber (†0). Weber’s family will entrust his unfinished Die drei Pintos to Meyerbeer, asking him to finish it.
10 June 1826 Two songs by Franz Schubert (29) are published by Cappi and Czerny, Vienna as his op.60: Greisengesang to words of Rückert, and Dithyrambe to words of Schiller.
14 June 1826 The government of the United Provinces of Central America grants a canal concession to the Central American and United States Atlantic and Pacific Canal Company. The deal will collapse next year when the company directors fail to obtain enough backing for the project.
16 June 1826 As a result of their revolt, the Janissaries, the elite of the Ottoman army, are killed on orders of Sultan Mahmut II.
Great Britain recognizes the independence of Mexico.
17 June 1826 Twelve days after the death of Carl Maria von Weber, Heinrich August Marschner (30) applies to King Friedrich August I of Saxony for his position. He will not get it.
20 June 1826 A treaty is signed between Siam and the United Kingdom in Bangkok. Polak and Selangor districts are declared independent, Kedah is awarded to Siam, the island of Pangkor and the Sembilan Islands go to Britain.
21 June 1826 A funeral procession for Carl Maria von Weber winds through London. All important singers in London offer their services. The composer’s mortal remains are laid to rest in Moorfields Chapel. See 14 December 1844.
22 June 1826 A decree by Tsar Nikolay of Russia sets up a Supreme Censorship Committee over a nationwide system of censorship and guidelines for their oversight of literature and the arts.
The first Pan-American Congress meets in Panama called by Simón Bolívar to create a union of Spanish speaking America.
Adina o Il califfo di Bagdad, a farsa by Gioachino Rossini (34) to words of Bevilacqua-Aldobrandini, is performed for the first time, in Teatro São Carlos, Lisbon. This is the only premiere of a Rossini opera at which the composer is not present.
3 July 1826 Heinrich August Marschner (30) marries his third wife, Marianne Wohlbrück, a well-known opera singer, in Dresden.
4 July 1826 About noon. Stephen Collins Foster is born in Lawrenceville (Pittsburgh), Pennsylvania, the ninth child of William Barclay Foster, a businessman, and Eliza Clayland Tomlinson, daughter of a fairly well off farmer.
Giacomo Meyerbeer (34) and Eugène Scribe meet in Paris to discuss Robert le diable for perhaps the first time.
John Adams and Thomas Jefferson die on the same day, the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, Adams in Quincy, Massachusetts at the age of 90, Jefferson at Monticello, near Charlottesville, Virginia at the age of 83.
6 July 1826 Gaetano Donizetti’s (28) dramma Elvida to words of Schmidt is performed for the first time, in Teatro San Carlo, Naples, before a royal gala. It is well received but has since disappeared.
8 July 1826 The State of Chile is renamed the Republic of Chile. The Congress names Admiral Manuel Blanco Encalada as first president of the republic.
11 July 1826 At the Institute in Paris, Hector Berlioz (22) and five others take part in the preliminary examination of the Prix de Rome, a fugue.
12 July 1826 The music section of the Institute, which includes François-Joseph Gossec (92), Luigi Cherubini (65), and Adrien Boieldieu (50), decide that two of the six Prix de Rome candidates should not continue past the preliminary stage. One of them is Hector Berlioz (22). Based on this result, he and his teacher, Jean-François Le Sueur, decide that he must enroll in the Paris Conservatoire.
Five weeks of voting for the British House of Commons conclude. The Tory government of the Earl of Liverpool is returned to power.
14 July 1826 Three songs by Franz Schubert (29) are published by Pennauer as his op.56: Willkommen und Abschied to words of Goethe, and An die Leyer and Im Haine both to words of Bruchmann.
15 July 1826 The Pan-American Congress meeting in Panama in an effort to unite the American republics concludes with little accomplished.
25 July 1826 Five of the leading Decemberists are hanged in Moscow. The ropes break on three of them and they have to be hanged again.
27 July 1826 Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin (16) achieves a high school diploma, in Warsaw.
29 July 1826 Publication of the Neue praktische-methodisch geordnete Clavier-Schule für die Jugend by Carl Czerny (35)is announced in the Wiener Zeitung.
1 August 1826 Francisco Manuel Trigoso de Aragão Morato replaces José Joaquim de Almeida e Araújo Correia de Lacerda as Secretary of State (prime minister) of Portugal.
3 August 1826 Fryderyk Chopin (16) travels to Bad Reinerz in Lower Silesia accompanied by his sisters Emilia and Ludwika and his mother. They are there for treatment, especially for Emilia, who is showing symptoms of tuberculosis and is probably contagious. Fryderyk, although ill himself, possibly contracts the disease from her. They will remain here for five weeks.
6 August 1826 At the ruins of Rauhenstein near Baden, 19-year-old Karl van Beethoven, nephew and ward of the composer, shoots twice at his left temple, missing with one shot and inflicting a flesh wound with the other. He is found by a teamster and, by his own request, is brought to his mother’s house in Vienna. The young man survives, but his uncle Ludwig (55) is emotionally wounded by the incident.
7 August 1826 Vienna police take the wounded Karl van Beethoven from his mother’s house to Vienna’s General Hospital, as is customary with suicide attempts. He will remain there until 25 September.
12 August 1826 Marie, an opéra comique by Ferdinand Hérold (35) to words of Planard, is performed for the first time, in the Théâtre Feydeau, Paris.
14 August 1826 Singapore and other areas of Malaya are organized as the Straits Settlements under the power of the British East India Company.
The French Academy responds favorably to the report by Antoine-Jéròme Balard that he has discovered Bromine.
16 August 1826 On his 31st birthday, Heinrich August Marschner begins a leave of absence from his post as Musikdirektor in Dresden. This is part of his resignation, which takes effect at the end of the month.
13 August 1826 Scottish explorer Alexander Gordon Laing becomes the first European to reach Timbuktu (Mali). He will be killed in September.
19 August 1826 Manuel González Salmón y Gómez de Torres replaces Pedro Alcantara Alvarez de Toledo y Salm-Salm, Duque de Infantado as Prime Minister of Spain.
26 August 1826 Hector Berlioz (23) enrolls in the composition course of Jean-François Le Sueur at the Paris Conservatoire.
21 September 1826 Four songs by Franz Schubert (29) are published by Sauer and Leidesdorf, Vienna as his op.59: Dass sie hier gewesen, Du bist die Ruh and Lachen und Weinen, all to words of Rückert, and Du liebst mich nicht, to words of Platen.
28 September 1826 Russia declares war on Persia over Persian involvement in Transcaucasia.
Ludwig van Beethoven (55), his brother Johann and their nephew Karl travel to Johann’s country property at Gneixendorf near Krems. The composer is ill.
2 October 1826 Hector Berlioz (23) enrolls in the course in counterpoint and fugue of Anton Reicha at the Paris Conservatoire.
7 October 1826 Under Russian pressure, the Ottoman Empire, in the Convention of Akkerman (Bilhorod-Dnistrovsky, Ukraine), agrees to autonomy for Serbia, Moldavia and Wallachia. Russian ships are granted rights to navigate Turkish waters, including the Dardanelles.
Lowell Mason (34) speaks at the Hanover Street Church in Boston and outlines his goals for the singing and teaching of church music.
9 October 1826 Gioachino Rossini’s (34) tragédie-lyrique Le siège de Corinthe, to words of Balocchi and Soumet after della Valle, is performed for the first time, in the Paris Opéra. As to the response, Léon Escudier will write, “The hall...leaped to its feet as one man at the final notes of the chorus and gave vent to a long shout of admiration.” It is the first Rossini work to be premiered at the Paris Opéra.
12 October 1826 The Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde grants 100 florins to Franz Schubert (29). He recently sent them a manuscript to a symphony (which they managed to lose).
14 October 1826 The French Royal Palace announces that Gioachino Rossini (34) has been created a chevalier of the Legion of Honor. Rossini, however, declines saying that some worthy Frenchmen (i.e. Hérold (35)) have not yet received it.
17 October 1826 Gioachino Rossini (34) is named Premier Compositeur du Roi and Inspecteur Général du Chant en France by King Charles X. See 1 January 1827.
31 October 1826 Muzio Clementi’s (74) complete Gradus ad Parnassum appears for the first time, simultaneously in Paris, Leipzig and London.
3 November 1826 Johann Nepomuk Hummel (47) is created a chevalier of the Legion of Honor by King Charles X.
12 November 1826 Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld and Saxe-Gotha join in personal union. The new Duchy is called Saxe-Coburg and Gotha under Duke Ernst I. The Duchy of Saxe-Altenberg is restored to sovereignty by Saxe-Gotha, under Duke Friedrich.
17 November 1826 Louise Reichardt dies in Hamburg, aged 47 years, seven months and six days.
19 November 1826 Fanny (21) and Felix Mendelssohn (17) play a four-hand piano version of Felix’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream overture for Ignaz Moscheles.
23 November 1826 Franz Schubert’s (29) song Der Einsame D.800 to words of Lappe is performed for the first time, in the Musikverein, Vienna.
24 November 1826 Three Songs op.65 by Franz Schubert (29), Lied eines Schiffers an die Dioskuren D.360 and Heliopolis I D.753, both to words of Mayrhofer, and Der Wanderer D.649 to words of Schlegel, are published in Vienna.
28 November 1826 Daniel-François-Esprit Auber’s (44) opéra comique Fiorella to words of Scribe is performed for the first time, in Théâtre Feydeau, Paris.
2 December 1826 Ludwig van Beethoven (55) arrives back in Vienna with his nephew Karl from his brother Johann’s place at Gneixendorf near Krems. They have spent the night in a cold inn and the composer has become very ill. Upon arrival, a doctor is summoned.
5 December 1826 Dr. Andreas Wawruch visits Ludwig van Beethoven (55) and diagnoses an inflammation of the lungs. The doctor will visit the composer daily through 14 December.
6 December 1826 Luis Manuel de Moura Cabral replaces Francisco Manuel Trigoso de Aragão Morato as Secretary of State (prime minister) of Portugal.
9 December 1826 The British cabinet agrees to send troops to Portugal.
12 December 1826 Dr. Wawruch is much alarmed by Ludwig van Beethoven’s (55) condition and orders surgery to remove abdominal fluids.
15 December 1826 The largest of the Schubertiads takes place in the Vienna home of Josef von Spaun, at which Johann Vogl sings 30 songs. This night will inspire the famous von Schwind sepia drawing.
16 December 1826 Francisco Alexandro Lobo, Bisop de Viseu replaces Luis Manuel de Moura Cabral as Secretary of State (prime minister) of Portugal.
19 December 1826 Franz Schubert (29) is on a list of eight finalists for the post of Vice-Hofkapellmeister to the Imperial Court Chapel. The position is awarded to Josef Weigl, principal conductor to the court theatres.
20 December 1826 Ludwig van Beethoven (56) undergoes surgery in his Vienna home to remove abdominal fluids, the first of four such operations.
21 December 1826 Der Zwerg D.771, a song by Franz Schubert (29) to words of von Collin, is performed for the first time, in the Musikvereinsaal, Vienna.
200 Anglo settlers seize Nacogdoches, Mexico (Texas) and proclaim the Republic of Fredonia. Mexican authorities put down the revolt with the help of anglo leaders.
28 December 1826 Franz Schubert’s (29) song Die junge Nonne D.828 to words of Craigher is performed publicly for the first time, in the Musikverein, Vienna. See 3 March 1825.
©Paul Scharfenberger 2004-2012
8 July 2012
Last Updated (Sunday, 08 July 2012 04:54)