The symphony begins to develop as a musical form, deriving from the overtures of operas

Like the symphony, the string quartet develops during the eighteenth century, moving from simple beginnings to great complexity

Johann Sebastian Bach compiles the Little Keyboard Book a set of pieces to teach his eldest son, Wilhelm Friedemann Bach

Johann Sebastian Bach writes the six Brandenburg Concertos for his employer at the court of Köthen

J.S. Bach publishes The Well-Tempered Clavier, a collection of 24 Preludes and Fugues

Vivaldi publishes the set of violin concertos known as The Four Seasons

J.S. Bach conducts the first performance of his St Matthew Passion in the St Thomas's church in Leipzig

Handel composes Zadok the Priest for the crowning of George II, and it has been sung at every subsequent British coronation

The Italian poet Metastasio produces, in Vienna, opera libretti which are used by almost every composer of the day

With the performance of Esther Handel taps a rich new vein, the English oratorio

Frederick II, inheriting the throne in Prussia, establishes a cultured and musical court

J.S. Bach publishes his set of Goldberg Variations, supposedly written for performance by the young harpsichordist Johann Gottlieb Goldberg

J.S. Bach publishes another set of 24 Preludes and Fugues, as an addition to his previous Well-Tempered Clavier

Shortly before his death (in 1750) J.S. Bach completes his Mass in B Minor, worked on over many years

By the time of his death the prolific output of Domenico Scarlatti includes 555 sonatas, all but a few for his own instrument, the harpsichord

Joseph Haydn enters the service of the Esterházy family, and stays with them for twenty-nine years

Johann Sebastian Bach's youngest son, Johann Christian, moves to London and becomes known as the English Bach

The intensely dramatic music of Gluck's Orfeo ed Eurydice introduces a much needed reform in the conventions of opera

6-year-old Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart plays for the Habsburg empress Maria Theresa

7-year-old Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart begins a three-year concert tour of Europe

Joseph Haydn's first published work is six string quartets, a form which he subsequently makes very much his own

Haydn's Farewell Symphony gives a subtle hint to his employer at Esterházy that it is time for the musicians to return home

Yankee Doodle is the most popular song with the patriot troops in the American Revolution

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, now 25, leaves Salzburg to settle in Vienna

12-year-old Ludwig van Beethoven publishes his first composition, Piano Variations on a March by Dressler