1851 in music

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This article is about music-related events in 1851.

Events

February – Operatic tenor Sims Reeves returns to perform in Dublin with his new wife, soprano Charlotte Emma Lucombe.
February 6 – Schumann's Symphony No. 3 receives its première in Düsseldorf, the composer conducting.^[1]
March 11 – Giuseppe Verdi's opera Rigoletto is first performed at La Fenice in Venice.^[2]
April 5 – Jenny Lind visits the Mammoth Cave in Kentucky, USA.^{[citation needed]}
July 23 – Richard Wagner writes down the leitmotif for the "Ride of the Valkyries".^{[citation needed]}
Operatic baritone Hans von Milde marries soprano Rosa Agthe.^{[citation needed]}
Eight-year-old Adelina Patti sings in public for the first time.^{[citation needed]}

Woldemar Bargiel
- Piano Trio No. 1 in F major, Op. 6
- String Quartet No.3, Op.15b
Johannes Brahms
- Scherzo in E-flat minor for solo piano, Op. 4
- Heimkehr (Homecoming) for voice and piano, Op. 7 No. 6
Stephen Heller – Pensées fugitives, Op.30
Franz Liszt
- Transcendental Études for Piano, S 139
- Grandes études de Paganini
Johann Kaspar Mertz – Fantaisie über 'Don Juan', Op.28
Jacques Offenbach – Concerto Rondo for cello and orchestra.
George Onslow – Wind Quintet Op. 81
Anton Rubinstein – Symphony No. 2 (Ocean) (first version)
Robert Schumann
- Symphony No. 4 from 1841, revised
- Violin Sonata No. 1
- Violin Sonata No. 2
- Der Rose Pilgerfahrt, oratorio
- Mädchenlieder, Op. 103
- 7 Lieder, Op. 104
- 6 Gesänge, Op. 107
- Piano Trio No. 3, Op. 110
- 3 Gedichte, Op. 119
- Julius Cäsar Ouverture, Op. 128
- 3 Fantasiestücke, for piano
- Märchenbilder, for piano and viola
Adrien-François Servais
- Souvenir de la Suisse, Op.10
- 6 Caprices for Cello, Op.11
Hugo Staehle – 6 Lieder, Op.2

January 25 – Jan Blockx, pianist, composer and music teacher (d. 1912)
January 27 – Gaspar Villate, composer (d. 1891)
February 12 – Anna Yesipova, pianist (d. 1914)
March 27
- Ruperto Chapí, composer (d. 1909)
- Vincent d'Indy, composer (d. 1931)
May 1 – Ludvig Hegner, composer (d. 1923)
May 6
- Aristide Bruant, French singer (d. 1925)
- Jean-Alexandre Talazac, operatic tenor (d. 1896)
May 7 – Julius Buths, pianist, conductor and composer (d. 1920)
May 17 – Victor Bendix, pianist, conductor and composer (d. 1926)
June 3 – Theodore Baker, musicologist (died 1934)
June 11 – Oscar Borg, composer (d. 1930)
June 12 – Pol Plançon, operatic bass (d. 1914)
August 8 – Walborg Lagerwall, Swedish violinist (d. 1940)
October 11 – Josif Marinković, composer (d. 1931)
October 16 – Viggo Bielefeldt, composer (d. 1909)
November 5 – Émile Pierre Ratez, composer (d. 1934)
November 16 – Minnie Hauk, operatic soprano (d. 1929)
probable – Marie Heilbron, operatic soprano (d. 1886)

January 21 – Albert Lortzing, composer (b. 1801)
January 24 – Gaspare Spontini, composer (b. 1774)
February 20 – Josef Alois Ladurner, Austrian composer and pedagogue (b. 1769)
March 6
- Alexander Alyabyev, composer (b. 1787)
- Emma Hartmann, composer (b. 1807)
April 8 – John Parry (Bardd Alaw), harpist and composer (b. 1776)
July 4 – Martin-Joseph Mengal, composer (b. 1784)
July 17 – Béni Egressy, composer and librettist (b. 1814)
August 8 – James Shudi Broadwood, piano-maker (b. 1772)
October 8 – George Alexander Lee, singer, songwriter and opera producer (b. 1802)
December 1 – Carl Dahlén, ballet dancer and choreographer (b. 1770)

^ Kuenning, Geoff (1994). "Schumann: Symphony No. 3, Rhenish". Archived from the original on 18 December 2005.
^ Rosselli, John (2000). The Life of Verdi. Musical Lives. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 86. ISBN 978-0-52166-957-3.