- Jan 6 Alexander Scriabin, Russian composer (Prometheus) and pianist, born in Moscow, Russia (d. 1915)
- Jan 11 Paul Graener, German Romantic composer, born in Berlin, German Empire (d. 1944)
- Jan 16 Henri-Paul Büsser, French composer and conductor, born in Toulouse, France (d. 1973)
- Mar 7 Vasily Andreyevich Zolotaryov, Russian composer (Rhapsodie hébraïque; Prince Lake), and teacher, born in Taganrog, Russia (d. 1964)
- Mar 8 Paul Juon, Russian-Swiss violinist and composer, born in Moscow, Russia (d. 1940)
- Mar 10 Felix Borowski, British-American composer, educator (Chicago Musical College, 1896-1925), and musicologist (Chicago Symphony, 1908-56), born in Burton-in-Kendal, England (d. 1956)
- Mar 19 Anna Held, Polish-born French actress and singer (A Parisian Model), born in Warsaw (d. 1918)
- Mar 20 Bernhard Seklas, German pianist, composer, conductor, and pedagogue thought to be the first jazz instructor, born in Frankfurt am Main, Germany (d. 1934)
- Mar 30 Sergey Vasilenko, Russian composer, born in Moscow, Russia (d. 1956)
- Mar 31 Sergei Diaghilev, Russian arts patron and ballet impresario (founder of the Imperial Ballet and Ballets Russes), born in Gruzino Novgorod, Russia (d. 1929)
- Apr 1 Tadeusz Joteyko, Polish conductor, composer, and musicologist (Zygmunt August), born in Poczujki, Russian Empire (d. 1932)
- Apr 4 Nikolai Amani, Russian composer, born in St. Petersburg, Russia (d. 1904)
- Apr 4 Pauline de Haan-Manifarges, Dutch concert and opera contralto singer, born in Rotterdam, Netherlands (d. 1954)
- Apr 23 Violet Gordon-Woodhouse, British musician (harpsichord and clavichord), born in Harley Street, St Marylebone, London (d. 1948)
- Apr 29 Eyvind Alnæs, Norwegian pianist, organist, choral director, and composer, born in Fredrikstad, Norway (d. 1932)
- Jul 7 Juan Lamote de Grignon, Catalan pianist, composer (La nit de Nadal (Christmas Night); Hespèria), and orchestra leader (Cobla Barcelona; València Municipal Orchestra), born in Barcelona, Spain (d. 1949)
- Jul 18 Julius Fučík, Czech composer, born in Prague, Kingdom of Bohemia (now Czech Republic) (d. 1916)
- Jul 20 Alexander "Alick" Maclean, British composer and conductor (Scarborough Spa Orchestra, 1912-35), born in Windsor, Berkshire, England (d. 1936) [1]
- Jul 20 Déodat de Séverac, French composer (Cerdaña), born in Saint-Félix-de-Caraman, France (d. 1921)
- Jul 27 Stanislav Binički, Serbian composer, born in Jasika, Kruševac, Principality of Serbia (d. 1942)
- Aug 15 Harold Fraser-Simson, English composer, born in London (d. 1944)
- Aug 15 Rubin Goldmark, American composer and teacher, born in New York (d. 1936)
- Aug 28 Alfred Baldwin Sloan, American composer, born in Baltimore, Maryland (d. 1925)
- Sep 9 Edward Burlingame Hill, American composer and educator (Harvard, 1908-40), born in Cambridge, Massachusetts (d. 1960)
- Sep 9 Josef Stránský, Czech conductor (New York Philharmonic, 1911-23), born in Humpolec, Bohemia (d. 1936)
- Sep 21 Albert Löfgren, Swedish clarinetist and composer (Slåttergille Rhapsody), born in Hasslösa, Sweden (d. 1930)
- Sep 22 Luis Villalba Munoz, Spanish composer (d. 1921)
- Oct 12 Ralph Vaughan Williams, English composer (Hugh the Drover), born in Down Ampney, England (d. 1958)
- Nov 4 Herman Finck, British conductor (Palace Theatre (London), 1900-20), theater and light classical composer (In The Shadows), born in London, England (d. 1939)
- Nov 29 Anna von Mildenburg, Austrian Wagnerian soprano, born in Vienna, Austria (d. 1947)
- Dec 6 Mikulas Moyzes, Slovak composer, born in Zvolenská Slatina, Slovakia (d. 1944)
- Dec 10 Johann Babtist Thaller, German composer, born in Röhrmoos, Germany (d. 1952)
- Dec 20 Lorenzo Perosi, Italian priest and sacred oratorio composer, born in Tortona, Kingdom of Italy (d. 1956)
Country Singers
Jazz Singers
Opera Singers
Pop Singers
Rappers
Rock Singers