- Jan 21 Anton Emil Titl, Austrian composer, dies at 72
- Jan 25 Peter Singer, Austrian composer and instrument maker, dies at 71
- Feb 2 Fabio Campana, Italian composer and opera director, dies at 63
- Feb 3 Guglielmo Quarenghi, Italian composer and cellist, dies at 55
- Feb 11 Gustav Schmidt, German composer and conductor, dies at 65
- Mar 2 Louis Kufferath, German-Belgian composer, dies at 70
- Apr 3 Friedrich Wilhelm Kücken, German composer, dies at 71
- Jun 24 Joseph Joachim Raff, German opera composer (Cavatine), dies at 60
- Jul 4 Joseph Brackett, American religious leader (Shakers) and composer (Simple Gifts), dies at 85
- Jul 12 Alfred Pease, American composer, dies at 44
- Oct 29 Gustav Nottebohm, German teacher and composer, dies at 64
- Nov 2 Cenobio Paniagua, Mexican composer, dies at 61
- Nov 20 (Albert) Béla Kéler, Hungarian composer, and conductor, dies at 62