See also: 1896 in music, other events of 1897, 1898 in music and the list of 'years in music'.

Events

• The Cakewalk matures into Ragtime music
• John Philip Sousa's band makes phonograph recordings of Cakewalks and early Ragtime
• Early publications by Scott Joplin.
• Gustav Mahler becomes director of the Vienna Court Opera , and is obliged to convert from Judaism to Roman Catholicism.

Published popular music

• "Asleep In The Deep"     w. Arthur J. Lamb m. Henry W. Petrie
• "At A Georgia Camp Meeting"     w.m. Kerry Mills
• "Badinage"     m. Victor Herbert
• "Beautiful Isle Of Somewhere"     w. Mrs Jessie Brown Pounds m. John S. Fearis
• "Break The News To Mother"     w.m. Charles K. Harris
• "Danny Deever"     w. Rudyard Kipling m. Walter Damrosch
• "Harlem Rag"     m. Tom Turpin
• "Louisiana Rag" m. Theodore H. Northrup
• "On The Banks Of The Wabash Far Away"     w.m. Paul Dresser
• "Our Lodger's Such A Nice Young Man"     w.m. Fred Murray & Laurence Barclay
• "Roustabout Rag"     m. Paul Sarebresole
• "The Shuffling Coon" by J. R. Todd
• "Song Of India"     m. Nikolai Rimsky Korsakov
• "Stars And Stripes Forever"     m. John Philip Sousa
• "Syncopated Sandy" by Wayburn & Whiting
• "Take Back Your Gold"     w.m. Monroe H. Rosenfeld
• "There's A Little Star Shining For You"     w.m. James Thornton
• "Ye Boston Tea Party" by Arthur Pryor

Classical music

• Symphony No. 1 - Hugo Alfvén
• String Quartet - Ernest Chausson
• The Sorcerer's Apprentice - Paul Dukas
• Concerto for violin and orchestra in D major - August Enna
• Symphonie Spirtuelle for string orchestra - Asger Hamerik
• Symphony No. 2- Alexander Zemlinsky

Opera

• Frederick Delius - Koanga
• August Enna - The Little Match Girl
• Zdenek Fibich - Sarka
• Wilhelm Kienzl - Don Quixote
• Jules Massenet - Sapho

Musical theater

• The Charlatan     Broadway production
• The Circus Girl      Broadway production
• The Glad Hand      Broadway production
• Pousse Café      Broadway production

Births

• January 22 - Leslie Sarony , English singer, comedian and songwriter
• April 17 - Harald Sæverud, composer
• April 19 - Vivienne Segal , US actress and singer
• May 2 - J. Fred Coots - US composer
• May 14 - Sidney Bechet
• July 11 - Blind Lemon Jefferson
• July 11 - Johnny Marvin , US singer & songwriter
• August 4 - Abe Lyman , US bandleader, composer and drummer
• August 24 - Fred Rose , US composer, singer and pianist
• September 8 - Jimmie Rodgers
• September 18 - Sam H. Stept , Russian-born US composer, pianist and conductor
• October 11 - Leo Reisman
• November 2 - Dennis King, British singer and actor
• Aileen Stanley
• November 25 - Willie 'The Lion' Smith , US jazz pianist
• December 30 - Alfredo Bracchi, Italian lyricist

Deaths

• April 3 - Johannes Brahms