1770 in music
Events
- January 20 – The new Théâtre du Palais-Royal (rue Saint-Honoré), the first purpose-built opera house in Paris, designed by Pierre-Louis Moreau-Desproux, is inaugurated with a performance of Rameau's Zoroastre.
- May 16 – The new Opéra royal de Versailles, designed by Ange-Jacques Gabriel, is inaugurated.
- Ballet is performed in Oslo for the first time, by Madame Stuart.
- Musikalisches Vielerley is published; a collection of pieces from various composers, edited by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach.
Classical music
- Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach – Fantasia in D minor, H.224
- Johann Christian Bach
- *6 Keyboard Concertos, Op. 7
- *6 Quartets, Op. 8
- Luigi Boccherini – Cello Concerto in D major, G.479
- Joseph Haydn – Baryton Trio in A major, Hob.XI:2
- Gabriele Leone – Six sonatas for mandolin and bass marked with signs according to the new method, Op. 2
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Symphony 11
- Pietro Nardini – Sonatas for 2 Flutes/Violins and Basso Continuo
Methods and theory writings
- Johann Caspar Heck – The Art of Playing the Harpsichord
- John Holden – ''An Essay Towards a Rational System of Music''
Operas
Published popular music
- William Billings – The New England Psalm Singer, featuring the song Chester.
Births
- February 18 – Christian Heinrich Rinck, composer
- February 20 – Ferdinando Carulli, composer
- February 22 – Jan Matyas Nepomuk August Vitasek, composer
- February 26 – Antoine Reicha, composer
- May 19 – Antoine-Charles Glachant, violinist and composer
- June 4 – James Hewitt, composer
- November 8 – Friedrich Witt, composer
- November 29 – Peter Hänsel, composer
- December 13 – John Clarke-Whitfeld, composer
- December 15 or December 16 – Ludwig van Beethoven, composer and pianist
- December 17 – Johann Friedrich Schubert, composer
Deaths
- February 26 – Giuseppe Tartini, violinist and composer, 77
- April 19 – Esprit Antoine Blanchard, composer, 74
- May 9 – Charles Avison, composer, 61
- October 1 – Louis-Gabriel Guillemain, composer, 64
- December 9 – Gottlieb Muffat, organist and composer, 80
- December 13 – Johann Heinrich Hartmann Bätz, organ-builder, 61