1780 in music

Events

 * Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart composes his opera Idomeneo at Munich.
 * The Danish royal anthem, "Kong Christian", is first sung.
 * Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach's Versuch über die wahre Art das Clavier zu spielen goes into its third edition.
 * 1780–1782 Emanuel Bach revises his Magnificat Wq 215 (H 772) (Hamburg version).

Classical music

 * Carl Friedrich Abel – 6 String Trios, Op. 16
 * Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach
 * Keyboard Sonata in F major, H.269
 * Keyboard Sonata in A major, H.270
 * Rondo in G major, H.271
 * Geistliche Gesänge, Book 1 H.749
 * Johann Christian Bach
 * 6 Sonatas for Keyboard and Violin or Flute, Op.16 (W.B 10-15a)
 * 6 Keyboard Sonatas, Op. 17
 * 2 Keyboard Quintets, Op. 22
 * Jean-Jacques Beauvarlet-Charpentier – 12 Noëls avec un Carillon des morts
 * Franz Benda – Violin Sonata in C minor, L3.9
 * Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Benda
 * Viola Concerto in F major, LorB 314
 * 3 Sonatas, Op. 3
 * Georg Benda – Sammlung Vermischter Stücke
 * Luigi Boccherini
 * 6 String Sextets, G.454-459 (Op. 23)
 * Musica notturna delle strade di Madrid (Op. 30)
 * 6 String Quintets, G.325-330 (Op.31)
 * 6 String Quartets, G.201-206 (Op.32)
 * Giuseppe Maria Cambini – 6 Trios for 2 Violins and Cello, Op. 15
 * Luigi Cherubini – 6 Harpsichord Sonatas
 * Muzio Clementi – 5 Piano Sonatas and a Duet, Op.1a
 * Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf – Job (oratorio)
 * Fedele Fenaroli – 9 Harpsichord Sonatas
 * Joseph Haydn
 * Symphony No.62 in D major, Hob.I:62
 * Symphony No.74 in E-flat major, Hob.I:74
 * Keyboard Sonata in C major, Hob.XVI:35
 * Keyboard Sonata in D major, Hob.XVI:37
 * Keyboard Sonata in E-flat major, Hob.XVI:38
 * Keyboard Sonata in G major, Hob.XVI:39
 * Leopold Kozeluch
 * 3 Keyboard Sonatas, Opp. 1-2
 * 3 Sonatas for Keyboard and Violin, Op. 17
 * Franziska Lebrun – 6 Violin Sonatas, Opp. 1-2
 * Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
 * Symphony No. 34 in C major, K.338
 * 3 Minuets, K. 363
 * Josef Myslivecek – 6 Divertimenti
 * Antonio Rosetti
 * Symphony in D major, M.A12
 * Oboe Concerto in C major, M.C30
 * Friedrich Schwindl – 6 Quintets or Trios, Op. 10
 * Carl Stamitz
 * Flute Concerto in G major, Op. 29
 * Clarinet Concerto No. 4 in B-flat major
 * Johann Franz Xaver Sterkel – Sonata for Violin and Keyboard in B-flat major, StWV 194
 * Luigi Tomasini – 3 String Quartets, Op. 8
 * Johann Baptist Wanhal – 6 String Trios, Op. 17

Opera

 * Domenico Cimarosa
 * Caio Mario
 * Le donne rivali
 * Il falegname
 * I finti nobili
 * Franz Danzi – Cleopatra
 * André Grétry – Aucassin et Nicolette
 * Franz Joseph Haydn – La Fedeltà premiata, Hob.XXVIII:10
 * Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Zaide (unfinished)
 * Josef Myslivecek – Antigono
 * Giovanni Paisiello – Il Barbiere di Siviglia
 * Niccolò Piccinni – Atys
 * Bernardo Porta – La Principessa d'Amalfi
 * Joseph Bologne Saint-Georges – L'Amant anonime (premiered March 8)

Methods and theory writings

 * Anonymous – ABCDario Musico (Bath: printed for the Authors, and sold at the Rooms, 1780.)
 * Salvatore Bertezen – Principi della musica
 * Fedele Fenaroli – Regole musicali per i principianti di cembalo
 * Johann Adam Hiller – Anweisung zum musikalisch-zierlichen Gesange (Leipzig: Johann Friedrich Junius, 1780)
 * Georg Caspar Hodermann – Kurzer Unterricht für Musik-Anfänger
 * Louis-Francois Henri Lefebure – Nouveau solfége

Births

 * January 14 – François-Joseph Dizi, harpist
 * February 2 – Ananias Davisson, shape-note advocate (died 1857)
 * February 8
 * Walenty Karol Kratzer, composer
 * Franz Anton Morgenroth, composer (died 1847)
 * March 10 – Juan José Landaeta, composer
 * May 22 – Jan Emmanuel Dulezalek, composer
 * May 28 – Joseph Frohlich, composer
 * June 18 – Michael Henkel, composer (died 1851)
 * July 25 – Christian Theodor Weinlig, composer
 * November 2 – Alexandrine-Caroline Branchu, soprano
 * November 3 – Victor Dourlen, composer
 * November 16 – Robert Archibald Smith, composer
 * November 17 – Franz Clement, composer (died 1842)
 * November 22 – Conradin Kreutzer, composer and conductor (died 1849)
 * December 18 – Johann Martin Friedrich Nisle, composer (died c. 1861)
 * date unknown
 * Ferdinand Gasse, French composer (died 1840)
 * Franciszek Lessel, Polish composer (died 1838)

Deaths

 * January 1 – Johann Ludwig Krebs, German composer (born 1713)
 * January 4 – Hedvig Wigert, opera singer (b. 1748)
 * January 10 – Francesco Antonio Vallotti, organist, composer and music theorist (b. 1697)
 * February 1 – Johann Ludwig Krebs, composer (b. 1713)
 * April 21 – Ferdinand Zellbell, composer
 * May 9 – Francisco Hernández Illana, Spanish composer (c.1700)
 * May 14 – Pierre Montan Berton, Father of Henri-Montan Berton and composer (born 1727)
 * August 19 – Bernhard Haltenberger, composer
 * September 6 – George Alexander Stevens, songwriter (b. 1710)
 * December 14 – Ignatius Sancho, composer and actor (b. c. 1729)
 * date unknown – Martin Nürenbach, dancer