1786 in music
Events
- January 21 – Luigi Boccherini becomes an official composer to Prince Frederick William of Prussia.
- February 7 – Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor, presents a festival at Schönbrunn Palace, at which new compositions by both Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Antonio Salieri are performed.
- April 28 – Leopold Mozart writes to his daughter, Maria Anna Mozart, predicting failure for his son's latest opera, The Marriage of Figaro. In fact its premiere on May 1 under the composer's baton at the Burgtheater in Vienna is a success with encores demanded. The libretto is by Lorenzo da Ponte.
- October 18 – Leopold Mozart is given a blood test on the same day that his daughter-in-law Constanze Mozart gives birth to her third child, Johann Thomas Leopold; the baby dies a month later, Leopold the following year.
- November 7 – America's oldest singing society is founded as the Stoughton Musical Society.
- November 24 – Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf unsuccessfully seeks employment with the newly enthroned King Frederick William II of Prussia.
- In Britain, William Parsons succeeds John Stanley as Master of the King's Musick.
- In Benares, Jiwan Shah and Francis Fowke conduct an experiment comparing the pitch of the harpsichord with that of a traditional Indian instrument.
- Georg Joseph Vogler is appointed Kapellmeister to King Gustav III of Sweden.
Publications
Classical music
- Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach – Funeral music for A. Schulte
- Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach – Ino, BR G 48
- Cecilia Maria Barthélemon
- *Op. 1: Three Sonatas for the Piano-Forte, or Harpsichord, the Second with an Accompaniment for the Violin
- *6 English and Italian Songs, Op.2
- Luigi Boccherini – Symphony in C major, G.515
- Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf
- *Der Apotheker und der Doktor
- *Giobbe
- Xaver Hammer – Gamba Sonata No.1 in D major
- Joseph Haydn
- *Symphony No. 82 in C ("Bear")
- *Symphony No. 84 in Eb
- *Symphony No. 86 in D
- *Concerto for 2 "Lyra organizzata" Hob.VIIh:3
- *Cavatina: "Sono Alcina e sono ancora" Hob.XXIVb:9
- *Recit: "Ah, tu non senti, amico" and Aria: "Qual destra omicida" Hob.XXIVb:10
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
- *Rondo in D for Keyboard, K. 485
- *Piano Concerto No. 23 in A, K. 488
- *Duet for Soprano and Tenor, “Spiegarti no poss'io”, K. 489
- *Scena and Rondo for Soprano, “Non più, tutti ascoltai”, K. 490
- *Piano Concerto No. 24 in C minor, K. 491
- *Quartet in E♭ for Piano and Strings, K. 493
- *Concerto No. 4 in E♭ for Horn and Orchestra, K. 495
- *Trio No. 2 in G for Piano, Violin and Violoncello, K. 496
- *Concerto No. 25 in C for Piano and Orchestra, K. 503
- *Symphony No. 38 in D "Prague", K. 504
- *Canon for 3 Voices in F major, K.507
- Giovanni Paisiello – Amor vendicato, R.2.7
- Ignaz Pleyel – Symphony in C major, B.128
- Corona Schröter – 25 Lieder
- Michel Yost – Clarinet Concerto No.14
Opera
- First edition of Elias Mann's ''Worcester Collection''
Methods and theory writings
Births
- January 3 – Johann Christian Friedrich Schneider, composer
- February 16 – Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia, amateur composer and patron
- April 11 – Johann Friedrich Kelz, composer
- April 18 – Franz Xaver Schnyder von Wartensee, composer
- June 20 – Marceline Desbordes-Valmore, lyricist
- June 21 – Charles Edward Horn, singer and composer
- July 25 – Giacomo Cordella, composer
- September 11 – Friedrich Kuhlau, composer
- September 12 – Jean-Louis Tulou, composer
- September 26 – August Mühling, German composer
- September 27 – José Mariano Elízaga, composer
- October 3 – Carl Almenräder, bassoonist
- October 21 – Henry Lemoine, composer
- November 10 – Carl Eberwein, violinist and composer
- November 18
- *Carl Maria von Weber, composer
- *Sir Henry Bishop, Professor of Music at Oxford
- December 20 – Pietro Raimondi, composer
- date unknown
- *Konstantinos Nikolopoulos, composer
- *Elena Pucić-Sorkočević, composer
Deaths
- January 4 – Moses Mendelssohn, philosopher and grandfather of composers Felix Mendelssohn and Fanny Mendelssohn
- January 14 – Michael Arne, composer
- February 16 – Johann Georg Schürer, composer
- March 7 – Frantisek Benda, composer
- March 21 – Johann Gottlieb Preller, cantor and composer
- April 13 – Jan Tomáš Kuzník, composer and music teacher
- May 19 – John Stanley, composer
- June 2 – Giovanni Battista Lampugnani, composer
- July – Sophia Baddeley, actress and singer
- July 5 – Michel Yost, composer
- July 29 – Franz Asplmayr, composer
- August 2 – François-Louis Gand Le Bland Du Roullet, librettist
- August 17 – King Frederick II of Prussia, amateur composer
- August 26 – Christoph Christian Sturm, lyricist
- September 6 – Karl von Ordóñez, composer
- September 18 – Giovanni Battista Guadagnini, musical instrument maker
- September 29 – Dietrich Ewald von Grotthuss pianist and composer
- October 6 – Antonio Sacchini, composer
- December 25 – Christoph Sonnleithner, composer