Overview of the events of 1847 in music
- January 1 – Rudolf Tillmetz, flute virtuoso, music teacher and composer (d. 1915)
- February 15 – Robert Fuchs, composer and music teacher (d. 1927)
- March 2 – Richard Temple, singer, actor and theatre director (d. 1912)
- March 9 – Axel Grandjean, conductor and composer (d. 1932)
- June 28 – Sveinbjörn Sveinbjörnsson, composer (d. 1927)
- July 12 – Karl Heinrich Barth, pianist and music teacher (d. 1922)
- July 21 – Víctor Mirecki Larramat, cellist and music teacher (d. 1921)
- October 21 – Giuseppe Giacosa, librettist for some of Puccini's operas (d. 1906)
- November 1 – Emma Albani, soprano (d. 1930)
- November 30 – August Klughardt, conductor and composer (d. 1902)
- December 1 – Agathe Backer Grøndahl, pianist and composer (d. 1907)
- December 9 – George Grossmith, comic writer and performer (d. 1912)
- December 18 – Augusta Holmès, composer (d. 1903)
- December 28 – James Frederick Swift, organist and composer (d. 1931)
- date unknown – Emma Fursch-Madi, operatic soprano (d. 1894)
- January 6 – Tyagaraja, Carnatic music composer (b. 1767)
- April 23 – Erik Gustaf Geijer, writer and composer (b. 1783)
- May 14 – Fanny Mendelssohn, pianist and composer (b. 1805; stroke)
- June 11 – Heinrich Bärmann, clarinet virtuoso (b. 1784)
- June 18 – Lisette Stenberg, actress and musician (b. 1770)
- July 19 – Johann Wilhelm Wilms, composer (b. 1772)
- September 4 – František Vladislav Hek, writer and composer (b. 1769)
- September 25 – Emma Albertazzi, English contralto (b. 1814)
- November 4 – Felix Mendelssohn, pianist, conductor and composer (b. 1809)
- November 20 – Henry Francis Lyte, hymnist (born 1793)
- date unknown – Cyrill Demian, piano and organ maker (b. 1772)
- date unknown – Francesco Molino, guitarist and composer (b. 1775)