1684 Francesco Durante – Italian composer and teacher (d.1755); among his famous pupils were Niccolò Jommelli, Giovanni Paisiello, Giovanni Battista Pergolesi and Niccolò Piccinni.
1732 Joseph Haydn – Austrian composer (d.1809); one of the most prolific and prominent figures of the Classical period; often called the ‘Father of the Symphony’ and ‘Father of the String Quartet’; friend of Mozart and a teacher of Beethoven; at the time of his death, one of the most celebrated composers in Europe.
1784 first performance Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 16 in Vienna, with the composer as soloist.
1794 first performance of Joseph Haydn's Symphony No. 100 ‘Military’, in London on his 62nd birthday.
1837 Franz Liszt and Sigismond Thalberg, the two reigning virtuosi of their day, perform a sort of pianistic ‘duel’ at a benefit concert in aid of Italian refugees at the Parisian salon of Princess Cristina Belgiojoso-Trivulzio and by most accounts, it ended in a tie.
1841 first performance of Robert Schumann's Symphony No. 1 ‘Spring’ in Leipzig with Felix Mendelssohn conducting.
1901 premiere of Dvorák’s opera Rusalka in Prague at the National Theater; the most popular excerpt is the Song to the Moon.
1932 first full performance as a ballet of the Mexican composer Carlos Chavez Horsepower (aka H. P. or Caballos de Vapor) by the Philadelphia Orchestra, Leopold Stokowski conducting, with choreography by Catherine Littlefield and decor and costumes by Diego Rivera.
1961 first performance of Jean Françaix’s L'horloge de flore (The Flower Clock) by oboist John de Lancie and the Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy conducting.