1612 death of Giovanni Gabrieli – Italian composer and organist (age c. 55 - his exact birthdate is uncertain); one of the most influential musicians of his time; his music represents the culmination of the style of the Venetian School, at the time of the shift from Renaissance to Baroque forms.
1644 Heinrich Biber baptized – Bohemian-Austrian composer and violinist (d.1704); one of the most important composers for the violin in the history of the instrument; wrote one of the earliest-known pieces for solo violin, the monumental Passacaglia from the Mystery Sonatas.
1845 premiere of Giuseppe Verdi's Alzira in Naples at the Teatro San Carlo; the opera is based on a play by Voltaire set in 16th century Peru.
1845 A statue of Beethoven was unveiled in Bonn, Germany, the composer's birthplace, in the 75th anniversary of his birth; Ludwig Spohr conducted a performance of Beethoven's Missa Solemnis at the cathedral; Franz Liszt had been instrumental in raising funds for the statue, and was present, as were Hector Berlioz, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Great Britain, and the King and Queen of Prussia; the statue still stands in the Münsterplatz in Bonn.