1794 in music

Events

 * Joseph Haydn begins his second visit to London
 * Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf is expelled from the palace in Johannesberg after a dispute with his patron Philipp Gotthard von Schaffgotsch, ending nearly a quarter of a century in his service there.

Classical music

 * Ludwig van Beethoven – String Trio No. 1 in E-flat major
 * William Billings – The Continental Harmony
 * Benjamin Carr – The Federal Overture
 * Domenico Cimarosa – Il trionfo della fede, sacred oratorio premiered May 3 in Naples
 * Muzio Clementi
 * Violin Sonata in C major, Op.30
 * Flute Sonata in A major, Op.31
 * 3 Piano Sonatas, Op. 33
 * Piano Trio, WO 6
 * Jan Ladislav Dussek – 12 Leçons progressives
 * Anton Eberl – Piano Sonata in C minor, Op. 1
 * Joseph Eybler
 * Christmas Oratorio
 * 3 String Quartets, Op. 1
 * Lev Gurilyov – Piano Sonata No.1
 * Joseph Haydn
 * Symphony No. 100 in G major, "Military"
 * Symphony No. 101 in D major, "Clock"
 * Symphony No. 102 in B-flat major, Hob.I:102
 * Divertimento in C major, Hob.IV:1
 * Divertimento in G major, Hob.IV:4
 * Piano Trios, Op.36
 * Piano Trio in G major, Hob.XV:32
 * Piano Sonata No. 51 in D major, Hob XVI:51
 * Piano Sonata No. 52 in E-flat, Hob XVI:52
 * 6 Psalms, Hob.XXIII:suppl.
 * 6 English Canzonettas, Hob.XXVIa:25-30
 * Johann Nepomuk Hummel – 3 Fugues, Op. 7
 * Jean Xavier Lefèvre – Clarinet Concerto No.4 in G minor, IJL 1
 * Johann Simon Mayr – La Passione, oratorio in Italian
 * Etienne Nicolas Méhul – Chant du départ
 * F. D Mouchy – La Mort de Louis XVI, Op.3
 * William Parkinson – 3 Sonatas for the pianoforte or harpsichord, Op. 1
 * William Parsons – The Court Minuets for His Majesty's Birth Day, 1794
 * Ignaz Pleyel – 3 Keyboard Trios, B.446-448
 * Pierre Rode – Air varié, Op.10
 * Antonio Rosetti – Symphony in F major, M.A49/I:25 or 24
 * Friedrich Wilhelm Rust – Keyboard Sonata No. 12 in D major, CzaR 11
 * Christian Gotthilf Tag – 12 Kurze und leichte Orgelvorspiele, 1 Orgelsinfonie
 * Giovanni Battista Viotti – Violin Concerto No.27 in C major
 * Christoph Ernst Friedrich Weyse – Piano Sonatas No. 5-8

Opera

 * Luigi Cherubini – Eliza (premiered Dec. 13 in Paris)
 * Domenico Cimarosa
 * Le astuzie femminili (premiered Aug. 26 in Naples)
 * Penelope (premiered Dec. 26 in Naples)
 * Francois-Joseph Gossec – Le triomphe de la République, RH 618 (divertissement, premiered Jan. 27 in Paris)
 * Friedrich Heinrich Himmel – Il primo navigatore
 * Johann Simon Mayr – Saffo
 * Étienne Méhul – Horatius Coclès, Mélidore et Phrosine
 * Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf – Das Gespenst mit der Trommel

Methods and theory writings

 * Matthew Camidge – Instructions, 8 Sonatinas, and Useful Preludes
 * Francois Devienne – Nouvelle méthode théorique et pratique pour la flûte
 * Anton Joseph Hampel – Méthode pour Cor
 * Nicola Sala – Regole del contrappunto pratico

Births

 * January 6 – Kašpar Mašek, composer (d. 1873)
 * April 7 – Giovanni Battista Rubini, tenor
 * April 9
 * Aristide Farrenc, musician and music publisher (died 1865)
 * Theobald Boehm, composer and flautist (died 1881)
 * May 23 – Ignaz Moscheles, composer and piano virtuoso (d. 1870)
 * August 10 – Princess Amalie of Saxony, composer (d. 1870)
 * September 10 – François Benoist, organist and composer (d. 1878)
 * September 16 – Wenzel Gährich, composer (died 1864)
 * September 29 – William Michael Rooke, violinist and composer (d. 1849)
 * October 4 – Justina Casagli, operatic soprano
 * October 7 – Wilhelm Müller, lyricist (died 1827)
 * October 13 – Anselm Hüttenbrenner, composer (d. 1868)
 * October 18 – Ferdinand Schubert, Austrian composer (died 1859)
 * October 23 – Joseph Panny, composer and violinist (died 1838)
 * October 29 – William Bingham Tappan, hymnist (died 1849)
 * November 3 – William Cullen Bryant, patron of the arts and poet (died 1878)
 * December 6 – Luigi Lablache, operatic bass
 * date unknown
 * Mirza Shafi Vazeh, lyricist (died 1852)

Deaths

 * April 26 – Johan Foltmar, composer (b. 1714)
 * May 6 – Jean-Jacques Beauvarlet-Charpentier, composer and organist (born 1734)
 * July 13 – Josse-François-Joseph Benaut, composer and musician (born 1741)
 * July 17 – Jean-Frédéric Edelmann, composer (b. 1749) (executed)
 * July 22 – Jean-Benjamin de Laborde, composer (born 1734)
 * July 25 – André Chénier, lyricist (born 1762)
 * August 7 – Edmund Angerer, composer (born 1740)
 * August 11 – Jakob Friedrich Kleinknecht, German composer (born 1722)
 * August 25 – Leopold August Abel, composer (b. 1717)
 * November 9 – Gregory Skovoroda, poet and composer (b. 1722)
 * November 20 – Mattia Verazi, Italian librettist (born c. 1730)
 * November 22 – Alison Cockburn, lyricist (born 1712)