1860 in music

Events

* The first Viennese operetta, "Das Pensionat" by Franz von Suppé, debuts at the Theater an der Wien
* First official National Eisteddfod of Wales is held at Denbigh.

Published popular music

* "Down Among the Cane-Brakes" By Stephen Foster
* "Mary Of Argyle" w. Charles H. Jefferys m. Sidney Nelson
* "Old Black Joe" By Stephen Foster
* "Virginia Belle" By Stephen Foster

Classical music

*Anton Rubinstein - "Soirées à Saint-Pétersbourg"
*Franz Liszt - "Mephisto Waltz No. 1"

Opera

*Flor van Duyse - "Teniers te Grimbergen" (libretto by Prudens van Duyse, premiered at Ghent)

Musical theater

* "Orphée Aux Enfers", Vienna production

Births

*March 13 - Hugo Wolf, composer (d. 1903)
*May 29 - Isaac Albéniz, pianist and composer (d. 1909)
*June 25 - Gustave Charpentier, composer (d. 1956)
*July 7
** Florence Farr, actress and composer (d. 1917)
** Gustav Mahler, conductor and composer (d. 1911)
*September 1 - Cleofonte Campanini, conductor (d. 1919)
*September 18 - Alberto Franchetti, opera composer (d. 1942)
*November 18 - Ignacy Jan Paderewski, pianist (d. 1941)
*November 27 - Victor Ewald, composer (d. 1935)
*December 4 - Lillian Russell, US singer and actress (d. 1922)
*December 18 - Edward MacDowell, pianist and composer (d. 1908)
*December 20 - Dan Leno, English music hall comedian, dancer and singer (d. 1904)
*December 28 - Harry B. Smith, US songwriter (d. 1936)

Deaths

*January 26 - Wilhelmine Schröder-Devrient, opera singer (b. 1804)
*March 6 - Justus Johann Friedrich Dotzauer, French cellist and composer (b. 1783)
*August 26 - Friedrich Silcher, composer (b. 1789)
*September 25 - Carl Friedrich Zöllner, composer and choirmaster (b. 1800)
*"date unknown"
**James Barr, composer (b. 1779)
**Johannes Frederik Fröhlich, violinist, conductor and composer (b. 1806)