Noteworthy Events in Music History
The year marked significant developments in music, highlighted by performances, compositions, and the birth of influential composers.
February Events
February 22 – Lovisa Augusti performed at a concert in Gothenburg, directed by a musician of the Hovkapellet.
September Events
September 11 – Eleven-year-old Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, along with his father Leopold, mother Anna Maria, and older sister Nannerl, left Salzburg for Vienna, traveling via Melk (where young Wolfgang played the organ). Shortly after their arrival, an outbreak of smallpox in Vienna forced them to flee the city, leading them to Brno.
October 26 – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was diagnosed with smallpox but recovered by November 10, after which Nannerl contracted the disease; she also survived.
Dictionnaire de musique by Jean-Jacques Rousseau was published during this year.
Compositions and Musical Contributions
During this time, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart composed the first act of an oratorio, Die Schuldigkeit des ersten Gebots, which was later completed by Michael Haydn and Anton Cajetan Adlgasser.
Popular Music
- James Hook released his first collection of songs for the Vauxhall Gardens.
Opera
- Felice Alessandri – Ezio
- Michael Arne – Cymon
- Christoph Willibald Gluck – Alceste
- Johann Adam Hiller – Lottchen am Hofe
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Apollo et Hyacinthus
- Josef Mysliveček – Il Bellerofonte
- Giovanni Paisiello – L’idolo cinese
- Johann Adolph Hasse – Partenope
Classical Music
- Carl Friedrich Abel – 6 Symphonies, Op. 7
- Thomas Arne – Four Symphonies
- Luigi Boccherini – Symphony in D major, G.500
- Joseph Haydn
- Symphony No.35 in B-flat major, Hob.I:35
- Symphony no 39
- 6 Flute Quartets, Op. 5
- String Trio in E-flat major, Hob.V:4
- Divertimenti in C major, G major, and A major
- Michael Haydn – Divertimento for 2 basset-horns, 2 horns and bassoon in C
- Gabriele Leone – 6 Sonatas for mandolin
- Antonio Lolli – 6 Violin Sonatas, Op. 3
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
- Die Schuldigkeit des ersten Gebotes, K.35
- Piano Concerto No.1 in F major, K.37
- Piano Concerto No.3 in D major, K.40
- A Berenice, K.70/61c
- Josef Mysliveček – 6 String Quartets, Op. 2
- Antonio Sacchini – Sinfonia in D major
- William Selby – 10 Voluntarys
Methods and Music Theory
- Johann Daniel Berlin – Anleitung zur Tonometrie
- Johann Philipp Kirnberger – Der allezeit fertige Polonoisen- und Menuettencomponist
- Johannes Schmidlin – Deutliche Anleitung zum gründlichen Singen der Psalmen
- Granville Sharp – A Short Introduction to Vocal Musick
- Georg Andreas Sorge – Anleitung zur Fantasie
Births
- March 17 – Luigi Capotorti, Italian composer (died 1842)
- March 19 – Leonhard von Call, Austrian composer (died 1815)
- April 27 – Andreas Romberg, violinist and composer (died 1821)
- May 4 – Tyagaraja, composer and singer (died 1848)
- September 17 – Henri Montan Berton, composer (died 1844)
- September 20 – José Maurício Nunes Garcia, composer (died 1830)
- September 26 – Wenzel Müller, composer (died 1835)
- November 13 – Bernhard Romberg, cellist and composer (died 1841)
- December 8 – Fabre d’Olivet, French poet and composer (died 1825)
- December 10 – Johannes Spech, Hungarian composer (died 1836)
- December 13 – August Eberhard Müller, German composer (died 1817)
Deaths
- January 3 – Luca Antonio Predieri, composer (born 1688)
- April 7 – Franz Sparry, composer (born 1715)
- June 22 – Johan Henrik Freithoff, violinist and composer (born 1713)
- June 25 – Georg Philipp Telemann, composer (born 1681)
- July 3 – Matthew Dubourg, violinist, conductor and composer (born 1707)
- August 28 – Johann Schobert, harpsichordist and composer (b. c. 1720)
- September 10 – Charles John Frederick Lampe, organist and composer (born 1739)