1829 In Berlin, Felix Mendelssohn conducts a performance of Bach's St. Matthew Passion, signaling the revival of interest in the music of Johann Sebastian Bach.
1830 premiere of Bellini’s opera I Capuleti e I Montecchi (The Capulets and Montagues) in Venice at the Teatro la Fenice; the libretto by Felice Romani is based not on Shakespeare but on the play Giulietta e Romeo by Luigi Scevola written in 1818.
1851 premiere of Giuseppe Verdi's opera Rigoletto at La Fenice in Venice; the libretto by Francesco Maria Piave is based on the play Le roi s'amuse by Victor Hugo; despite serious problems with the Austrian censors who had control over northern Italian theatres at the time, the opera had a triumphant premiere.
1876 Carl Ruggles – American composer (d.1971); one of the ‘American Five’ group of composers, including Charles Ives, John J. Becker, Wallingford Riegger and Henry Cowell; best known work is Sun-Treader (1931); also a prolific painter.
1888 first performance of Antonín Dvorák’s Symphony No. 2 in Prague, the only performance during the composer’s lifetime; after Dvorák completed it in 1865, he sent the score to be bound, but could not pay, so the binder kept it.
1897 Henry Cowell – American composer, music theorist, pianist, teacher, publisher, and impresario (d.1965); Virgil Thomson, writing in the early 1950s, summed up Cowell’s contribution: “No other composer of our time has produced a body of works so radical and so normal, so penetrating and so comprehensive.”
1912 Xavier Montsalvatge – Spanish (Catalan) composer and music critic (d.2002); one of the most influential music figures in Catalan music during the latter half of the 20th century.
1914 William Lloyd Webber – English composer and organist (d.1982); studied at the Royal College of Music and because there was already another student there named William Webber, William used his middle name from then on as part of his name; father of West End composer Andrew Lloyd Webber and cellist Julian Lloyd Webber.
1917 first performance of Ottorino Respighi's tone poem Fontane di Roma (Fountains of Rome); the four sections are meant to depict Roman fountains during different periods of the day and night.
1921 Astor Piazzolla – Argentine tango composer and bandoneón player (d.1992); developed a new style termed nuevo tango.
1950 Katia Labeque – French pianist (74 years old); with Marielle, member of the piano duo, the Labeque Sisters.
1950 Bobby McFerrin – American vocalist and conductor (74 years old); the son of operatic baritone Robert McFerrin and singer Sara Copper; known for his unique vocal techniques and virtuosic singing styles.