MusicAndHistory.com

1 January 1791 Joseph Haydn (58) arrives in Great Britain at Dover.

2 January 1791 Joseph Haydn (58) and Johann Peter Solomon arrive in London.  In a few days Haydn will write, “My arrival caused a great sensation throughout the whole city.”

6 January 1791 The Théâtre de Monsieur opens its newly built auditorium in the rue Feydeau, Paris.

11 January 1791 In their successful efforts to put down the Belgian revolt, the Austrian army takes Liège.

15 January 1791 One workman is killed and several injured when the stone staircase in the new King’s Theatre, London, now under construction, collapses.

Because of the political situation in France, Ignaz Pleyel (33) loses his position of organist at the Strasbourg Cathedral.

16 January 1791 The announcement of Johann Peter Salomon’s upcoming subscription concerts with Franz Joseph Haydn (58) appears in several London newspapers.

18 January 1791 During a court fete at St. James’ Ballroom to celebrate the birthday of Queen Charlotte, Joseph Haydn (58) is recognized by the royal family.  The Prince of Wales bows to him, thus securing a place for Haydn with the British aristocracy.

19 January 1791 A new French law declaring the “liberty of the theatres,” essentially abolishing censorship, is given royal assent.  It also requires all theatres to have written permission of authors to perform their works.

25 January 1791 Tired of the constant quarrelling at the Italian opera company in Vienna, Emperor Leopold II sacks Lorenzo da Ponte and the theatre director Count Orsini-Rosenberg.  The music director, Antonio Salieri (40), has resigned before he can be dismissed.

28 January 1791 Louis Joseph Ferdinand Hérold is born in Paris, son of François-Joseph Hérold, a pianist, composer and teacher.

7 February 1791 Publication of Six String Quartets B.353-358 by Ignaz Pleyel (33) is announced in the Frankfurter Ristretto.

15 February 1791 Cora, an opéra by Etienne-Nicolas Méhul (27) to words of Valadier after Marmontel, is performed for the first time, at the Académie Royale de Musique (Paris Opéra).

17 February 1791 Three piano sonatas C.71-73 by Jan Ladislav Dussek (31) are entered at Stationers’ Hall, London.

21 February 1791 Carl Czerny is born in Leopoldstadt, Vienna, the son of Wenzel Czerny, an organist, oboist, singer, piano teacher and repairman, and Maria Ruzitschka.  He is baptized today in the church of St. Leopold.

22 February 1791 Penso, rifletto, an aria for Matin y Soler’s Il burbero di buon cuore by Luigi Cherubini (30) is performed for the first time, in Théâtre De Monsieur, Paris.

23 February 1791 The publication of Joseph Haydn’s (58) String Quartets op.64 is announced in the Wiener Zeitung.

25 February 1791 President George Washington signs a bill creating the First Bank of the United States.

2 March 1791 Claude Chappe demonstrates his “optical telegraph” or semaphore as a way of sending messages over great distances.  He sends a message from Brulon to Parce, France, a distance of about 15 km.

3 March 1791 The US Congress passes its first tax law, placing a levy on alcoholic beverages.

4 March 1791 Vermont becomes the fourteenth state of the United States.

King Louis XVI takes to his bed with a fever.  He will remain there for a month.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's (35) last public performance, in an academy concert by the clarinettist Joseph Bähr, features the premiere of his Piano Concerto no.27 K.595, the composer at the keyboard.  It is the first virtuoso concert in a new hall on the Himmelpfortgasse run by Ignaz Jahn.

6 March 1791 The Ritterballet by Ludwig van Beethoven (20) to a scenario by Count Waldstein is performed for the first time, in Bonn.  This is a ballet produced by Beethoven’s aristocratic friend count Ferdinand Waldstein.  The name of the composer is not made public.

11 March 1791 The first season of the Salomon-Haydn (58) concerts in London begins in the Hanover Square Rooms.  It includes the first performance of Symphony no.96.  The program also features Jan Ladislav Dussek (31) playing his own piano music.  Haydn is escorted into the room “amid universal applause.”

13 March 1791 In response to Reflections on the Revolution in France by Edmund Burke, Thomas Paine publishes Rights of Man in London.  He advocates revolution any time a government does not protect the rights of the people.

16 March 1791 Publication of Jan Ladislav Dussek’s (31) three keyboard soantas C.74-76 is announced in Sieber’s Affiches et Annonces.

22 March 1791 Publication of the Symphonie Concertante B.112 by Ignaz Pleyel (33) is announced in the Frankfurter Ristretto.

26 March 1791 The newly rebuilt King’s Theatre officially opens in London, although free performances have occurred there over the last month.  The Prince of Wales is in attendance.

27 March 1791 British Prime Minister William Pitt demands that Russia give up the Black Sea port of Ochakov which they had seized from the Ottomans in 1788.  He mobilizes the Royal Navy and asks Parliament for funds to support action against Russia.

2 April 1791 Jacobin leader and former President of the French National Assembly Honoré-Gabriel Riqueti, Comte de Mirabeau, dies in his bed, of unknown causes.

4 April 1791 About 300,000 Parisians turn out for the funeral of Mirabeau.  A six-hour procession winds from his house to Ste.-Geneviève (Pantheon), stopping for a eulogy at the Church of Saint-Eustache.  The music is written for the occasion by François-Joseph Gossec (57).

7 April 1791 Two pieces for Giovanni Paisiello’s (50) Il tamburo notturno by Luigi Cherubini (30) are performed for the first time, in Théâtre De Monsieur, Paris.

9 April 1791 Guillaume Tell, a drame mise en musique by André-Ernest-Modeste Grétry (50) to words of Sedaine after Lemierre, is performed for the first time, at the Comédie-Italienne, Paris.

12 April 1791 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (35) dates the score to his String Quintet K.614 in Vienna.

14 April 1791 In London, Joseph Haydn (58) is deposed in the case of the publishers Forster v. Longman&Broderip.  He confirms that two of the Piano Trios H. XV:  3-5 were actually written by his student, Ignaz Pleyel (33) and supports Forster’s claims in the case.  Because of Haydn’s limited English, Johann Peter Salomon serves as interpreter.

16 April 1791 In the face of domestic opposition and apathy, British Prime Minister William Pitt rescinds his ultimatum to Russia and Russia is allowed to keep Ochakov.

Antonio Salieri (40) conducts an orchestra of 180 in the Burgtheater,Vienna.  It includes a symphony by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (35), possibly K.550.

18 April 1791 As King Louis and Queen Marie Antoinette attempt to leave the palace for Saint-Cloud their way is blocked by a large crowd.  National Guardsmen refuse Lafayette’s order to clear a path.  There is a standoff for an hour and 45 minutes during which the crowd hurls abuse at the royal pair.  They finally give up and return to the palace.

23 April 1791 On one of his frequent visits to the London home of Charles Burney, Joseph Haydn (58) plays second violin in some of his string quartets and first violin in The Seven Last Words.

25 April 1791 Pietà di me, benigni Dei for three singers, english horn, bassoon, french horn, and orchestra by Joseph Haydn (59) is performed for the first time, in London.

26 April 1791 A concerto movement for basset horn K.621b by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (35) is performed for the first time, at the Prague National Theatre.

28 April 1791 The City Magistracy of Vienna decides in favor of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s (35) petition to be appointed an unpaid assistant to the current Kapellmeister at St. Stephen’s, Leopold Hoffmann.

3 May 1791 In an effort to lessen Russian control, Poland adopts a new constitution, providing for limited hereditary monarchy and formalizing the union with Lithuania.  Roman Catholicism is the state religion but religious freedom is guaranteed.

5 May 1791 Three String Quartets op.33 by Leopold Kozeluch (43) are entered at Stationers’ Hall, London.

6 May 1791 Giovanni Paisiello’s (50) Cantata epitalamica is performed for the first time, in Florence.

The Canada Constitution Act is passed by the British Parliament.  Canada is divided into two provinces, Upper (Ontario) and Lower (Quebec), with elected assemblies.

7 May 1791 The French National Assembly ratifies religious tolerance.

A new court theatre opens in Weimar.  Its director is Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.

9 May 1791 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (35) is appointed deputy kapellmeister at St. Stephen’s Cathedral.  It is an unpaid position, but he is assured that he will succeed the current kapellmeister in due course.

11 May 1791 Jan Václav Vorísek is born in Vamberk, northeast Bohemia, the son of Václav Frantisek Vorísek, schoolmaster, organist and choirmaster, and Rozálie Matiásová.

14 May 1791 British forces defeat Tipu of Mysore at Seringapatam, just north of Mysore.

Publication of a String Sextet B.261 by Ignaz Pleyel (33) is announced in the Wiener Zeitung.

16 May 1791 The Life of Samuel Johnson, LL.D. by James Boswell is published in London.

24 May 1791 Incidental music to a play by Pujoulx, La mort de Mirabeau by Luigi Cherubini (30) is performed for the first time, in the Théâtre De Monsieur, Paris.

1 June 1791 Joseph Haydn (59) witnesses a performance of Messiah by George Frideric Handel (†32) in Westminster Abbey.  Although he has heard Handel before, the English tradition “astonishes” him and he starts to think about oratorios.

Ti rasserena o cara, a sextet for Gazzaniga’s Le vendemmie by Luigi Cherubini (30), is performed for the first time, in the Théâtre De Monsieur, Paris.

3 June 1791 The last of the Haydn (59)-Salomon concerts for this season takes place in London.  Salomon includes Jan Ladislav Dussek (31) performing a new piano concerto.

5 June 1791 On his second voyage, Robert Gray, out of Boston, reaches Clayoquot Sound on southern Vancouver Island.

6 June 1791 A keyboard sonata op.26 by Muzio Clementi (39) is entered at Stationers’ Hall, London.

14 June 1791 The Gazette de Saint-Pétersbourg announces that “Domenico Cimarosa (41), Maestro di cappella of the court, is leaving with his wife, his two children, and his Italian servants.”  Since his arrival in December 1787, he and his music have never been in favor with Empress Yekaterina.

16 June 1791 La locanda, a dramma giocoso by Giovanni Paisiello (51) to words of Toniolo after Bertati, is performed for the first time, in the London Pantheon.

17 June 1791 The Le Chapelier law is passed, prohibiting French workers and their employers from entering into associations.  It essentially outlaws the right to strike.

21 June 1791 The French royal family escapes the palace dressed as servants, their servants as nobility (the dauphin is disguised as a girl) making for loyal troops on the border at Montmédy.

King Louis’ declaration is read to the National Assembly.  He repudiates all his actions since 6 October 1789.

Enraged mobs take to the streets of Paris destroying anything with the King’s name or the fleur-de-lis.

23:00 The King’s entourage is arrested at Varennes, 200 km east of Paris.

22 June 1791 6,000 armed citizens begin to escort the King from Varennes back to Paris.  In Paris, the royal family is met by guardsmen showing “restrained disrespect.”

The Cordeliers, radical democrats, require their members to take an oath of “tyrannicide” against threats to liberty.

23 June 1791 Ave verum corpus K.618 for chorus, strings and continuo by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (35) is performed for the first time, in Baden near Vienna.

24 June 1791 The name of the Académie Royale de Musique is changed to simply the Opéra.

25 June 1791 King Louis XVI of France is suspended as head of state.  His place is taken by Alexandre, vicomte de Beauharnais, President of the National Constituent Assembly.

29 June 1791 Five days after its name was changed, the Opéra is now called the Académie de Musique.

1 July 1791 King Louis XVI announces that he will no longer fund the salaries of the faculty of the École Royale de Chant et de Déclamation.

3 July 1791 Russian forces seize Anapa on the Black Sea, just east of the Crimea, from the Turks.

Charles Malo François, comte de Lameth replaces Alexandre, vicomte de Beauharnais as President of the National Assembly of France.

4 July 1791 In an effort to break all ties with the royal family, the Théâtre de Monsieur renames itself the Théâtre de la rue Feydeau.

5 July 1791 Emperor Leopold II signs the Padua Circular in that city in an attempt to enlist the support of Great Britain, Prussia, Russia, Spain, and others to give aid to King Louis of France.

Joseph Haydn (59) is deposed for a second time in the case of Forster v. Longman&Broderip.  Once again, Johann Peter Salomon serves as interpreter.  Haydn confirms authorship of all the music in question in the case, except for the two he has already acknowledged as being by Pleyel (34).

6 July 1791 After two failed attempts, François Blanchard ascends in a balloon from Vienna and comes to Earth at Gross-Enzersdorf, a short distance away.  The ropes are cut by Archduke Franz personally.

7 July 1791 Joseph Haydn (59) receives a doctorate from Oxford University.  He conducts his Symphony no.92 on the occasion.  Because of this it becomes known as the Oxford symphony.  The organist of Christ Church, Oxford, William Crotch (16), plays the organ for Haydn during his visit.

8 July 1791 The impresario Domenico Guardasoni signs a contract with the Bohemian estates to produce an opera for the coronation festivities of Leopold II as King of Bohemia.  He will ask Antonio Salieri (40) to write it, but Salieri will refuse.  Guardasoni will have to settle for Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (35).

11 July 1791 To honor the man who, it was said, provided the spirit for the revolution, the body of Voltaire is transported from Romilly-sur-Seine and, with appropriate pomp and bombast, is placed in the Panthéon (Sainte-Geneviève).  The music is written by François-Joseph Gossec (57) specifically for this occasion.  It includes the Choeur patriotique exécuté á la translation de Voltaire:  “Peuple éveille-toi”, to words of Voltaire and Hymne sur la translation du corps de Voltaire to words of Chénier.

14 July 1791 A conservative mob riots outside the Birmingham home of Joseph Priestley, a supporter of the American and French Revolutions and a religious dissenter, wherein a party to honor Bastille Day is being held.  The mob will rule Birmingham for three days.  Priestley’s home and laboratory are burned down, as well as those of his friends.  Priestley and his family narrowly escape with their lives.  They will emigrate to America in 1794.

Demonstrations and commemorations take place in Dublin, Belfast and elsewhere in Ireland on the second anniversary of the fall of the Bastille.

With no income at present, Niccolò Piccinni (63), his wife and daughters, leave Paris for home in Naples.  In an age of revolution, his operas are now passé.

16 July 1791 The French National Assembly votes to keep King Louis XVI on the throne.  In the evening, opponents of the action take to the streets.

17 July 1791 50,000 demonstrators gather on the Champ de Mars to sign a petition ending their allegiance to the king.  Two men found hiding under the altar are assumed to have ill intentions and are hanged.  Martial law is declared and the National Guard called out.  The crowd throw stones at the guardsmen who open fire, killing somewhere between 13 and 50 people.

18 July 1791 Luigi Cherubini’s (30) heroic comedy Lodoïska to words of Fillette-Loraux after Louvet de Couvrai, is performed for the first time, in the Théâtre Feydeau.  The work is an unqualified success.  André-Ernest-Modeste Grétry (50) thanks the composer publicly “in the name of art.”

19 July 1791 Joseph Jacques Defermon, dit Defermon des Chapelières replaces Charles Malo François, comte de Lameth as President of the National Assembly of France.

The National Assembly, seeking to clarify the law of January 13, decrees that formal, written consent by the author must be given to perform stage works by living artists.

25 July 1791 Joseph Boulogne de Saint Georges (45) enlists in the National Guard, at Lille.

26 July 1791 A sixth child is born to Constanze and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (35) in Vienna, Franz Xaver Wolfgang.

31 July 1791 Alexandre, vicomte de Beauharnais replaces Joseph Jacques Defermon, dit Defermon des Chapelières as President of the National Constituent Assembly of France.

3 August 1791 Edmund Burke publishes Appeal from the New to the Old Whigs, wherein he criticizes those who support the ideals of the French Revolution.

4 August 1791 Peace is concluded between Austria and the Ottoman Empire at Sistova (Svishtov, Bulgaria) on the Danube.  There is very little change. Austria gains the town of Orsova on the Danube, 150 km east of Belgrade.  This is the end of the last war between Austria and the Ottoman Empire.

6 August 1791 The Brandenburg Gate is opened in Berlin.  Not impressed with its significance, King Friedrich Wilhelm II of Prussia does not bother to show up.

7 August 1791 Friedrich Karl replaces Johann Friedrich Alexander as Prince of Wied-Neuwied.

10 August 1791 Preliminary peace is concluded between Russia and the Ottoman Empire.

14 August 1791 Charles Louis Victor, prince de Broglie replaces Alexandre, vicomte de Beauharnais as President of the National Constituent Assembly of France.

16 August 1791 Franz Karl Graf von Lodron replaces Joseph Philipp Graf von Spaur as Prince-Bishop of Brixen.

19 August 1791 Adagio in c minor and Rondo in C major for glass harmonica, flute, oboe, viola and cello K.617 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (35) is performed for the first time, in the Kärntnertortheater, Vienna.  It is his last completed work of chamber music.

22 August 1791 Black slaves begin an insurrection in the north of Saint Domingue (Haiti).

25 August 1791 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (35) departs Vienna for Prague with his wife and secretary, Franz Xaver Süssmayer for the coronation of Emperor Leopold II as King of Bohemia.

26 August 1791 Court kapellmeister Antonio Salieri (41) arrives in Prague with 20 musicians for the upcoming coronation festivities.

27 August 1791 The Declaration of Pillnitz is promulgated by King Friedrich Wilhelm II of Prussia and Emperor Leopold II.  They guarantee the safety of King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette and threaten the French Revolution.

28 August 1791 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (35), his wife and secretary arrive in Prague.

Théodore Vernier replaces Charles Louis Victor, prince de Broglie as President of the National Constituent Assembly of France.

29 August 1791 Emperor Leopold II arrives in Prague to be crowned King of Bohemia.

31 August 1791 The Wiener Zeitung announces Artaria’s publication of Joseph Haydn’s (59) Piano Sonata XVI: 4a.

3 September 1791 Michelangelo Agostino Cambiaso replaces Alerame Maria Pallavicini as Doge of Genoa.

The Polish Constitution of 3 May 1791 goes into effect.

4 September 1791 A deputation from the French National Assembly presents the constitution to King Louis XVI for his acceptance.  He replies that he will study it and inform them.  France annexes the church lands of Avignon and Comtat-Venaissin.

5 September 1791 Jakob Liebmann Meyer Beer (later Giacomo Meyerbeer) is born in Vogelsdorf just east of Berlin, the son of Jakob Herz Beer, owner of a sugar refinery, and Amalia Malka Liebmann Meyer Wulff, daughter of Liebmann Meyer Wulff who made his fortune delivering supplies to Prussian troops and directing the Prussian lottery.

6 September 1791 Emperor Leopold II is crowned King of Bohemia in Prague.  The ordinary of the mass is by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (35), either K.317 or 337, and conducted by Antonio Salieri (41).  Mozart’s opera seria La clemenza di Tito K.621 to words of Mazzolà after Metastasio, is performed for the first time, at the Prague National Theatre, as part of the celebrations surrounding the coronation.  The Empress comments that the opera is German hogwash, but successive productions grow in popularity.

11 September 1791 Jacques Guillaume Thouret replaces Théodore Vernier as President of the National Constituent Assembly of France.

11 September 1791 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (35), his wife and secretary return to Vienna from Prague.

12 September 1791 The Huldigungskantata by Leopold Kozeluch (44) is performed for the first time, in Prague as part of the festivities surrounding the coronation of Leopold II as King of Bohemia.

13 September 1791 King Louis XVI accepts the new constitution for France.

14 September 1791 King Louis XVI is installed as the constitutional “King of the French.”  He swears to maintain and defend the constitution.  He thus replaces Jacques Guillaume Thouret as head of state.

France formally annexes the Papal territory of Avignon and Comtat-Venaissin.

15 September 1791 Niccolò Piccinni (63), his wife and daughters arrive home in Naples from Paris.

17 September 1791 The name of the Paris Opéra is changed from the Académie de Musique to the Académie Royale de Musique.

26 September 1791 Joseph Haydn (59) signs the guestbook at Broadwood’s Piano Shop, London.

The French National Assembly takes over the salaries of the faculty of the École Royale de Chant et de Déclamation which were abandoned by the king on 1 July.

27 September 1791 The Jews of France are emancipated and granted citizenship.

28 September 1791 The French government abolishes slavery in France proper.

29 September 1791 The French Constituent Assembly adopts a measure to make the political clubs into private organizations.  Petitions or criticism of the government are to be considered seditious.  The measure is adopted over a very moving protest by the eloquent leader of the left, Maximilien de Robespierre.

30 September 1791 The French Constituent Assembly ends its existence.  Robespierre is carried out of the hall on the shoulders of a huge crowd.  The French Revolution appears to be over.

Two days after the completion of the composition, Die Zauberflöte K.620, a singspiel by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (35) to words of Schikaneder, is performed for the first time, in Theater-auf-der-Wieden, Vienna.  Disliked by critics, it is very popular with the public.

1 October 1791 The first French Assembly convenes under the new constitution.

Nantilde et Dagobert, an opéra by Giuseppe Cambini (45) is performed for the first time, in Paris.

2 October 1791 L’Olimpiade, a dramma per musica by Johann Friedrich Reichardt (38) to words of Metastasio, is performed for the first time, in the Königliches Theater, Berlin.

6 October 1791 King Louis XVI arrives at the Legislative Assembly to find a chair positioned equally beside that of the president.  The deputies are already standing before he enters.  As the king begins to speak, they all sit down and replace their hats.  Louis does the same.

14 October 1791 Inspired by the French Revolution, nine Presbyterian Irishmen, Wolfe Tone and Thomas Russell meet in Belfast and form the United Irishmen.  They propose a radical reform of the Irish Parliament, reducing English influence and including Irishmen of all religions.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (35) writes to his wife that he took their son Carl, his mother-in-law Caecilia Weber, Antonio Salieri (41) and Caterina Cavalieri to see Die Zauberflöte.  “They both said it was an operone, worthy to be performed for the grandest festival and before the greatest monarch, and that they would often go to see it, as they had never seen a more beautiful or delightful show.  Salieri listened and watched most attentively and from the overture to the last chorus there was not a single number that did not call forth from him a bravo! or bello!”  (Anderson, 970)

16 October 1791 The Concerto for clarinet and orchestra K.622 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (35) is performed for the first time, in Prague.

18 October 1791 Andrew Law (42) receives a federal copyright for the third edition of his Rudiments of Music which is actually a new collection of tunes.

24 October 1791 The Second Congress of the United States convenes in Philadelphia.  Voting for the House of Representatives took place in the several states between April 1790 and October 1791.  Supporters of President Washington’s government hold majorities in both houses of Congress.

31 October 1791 The French Legislative Assembly rules that all emigrés who do not give up their arms by 1 January will be considered conspirators, their lives and lands forfeit.

1 November 1791 Effective this date, Emperor Leopold II removes Antonio Salieri (41) as music director of the Burgtheater, although he retains him as Hofkapellmeister.

4 November 1791 Native Americans surprise and defeat United States troops near the Wabash River (Mercer County, Ohio).  651 people are killed, 344 wounded.

5 November 1791 Joseph Haydn (59) is the guest of honor at an official dinner given by the Lord Mayor of London.  Everything is done loudly--toasts and yelling while music is playing.

9 November 1791 The French National Assembly requires that the king’s brother, the Comte de Provence, return to the country within two months or be deprived of his succession.

The Lower Austrian provincial court finds for Karl von Lichnowsky and against Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (35) in the amount of 1,435 gulden, 32 kreuzer.  (The reason is unknown.  Lichnowsky will never attempt to collect the money.)

George Hammond presents his credentials to Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson as the first minister from Great Britain to the United States.

15 November 1791 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (35) finishes his last completed work, the cantata Laut verkünde unsre Freude K.623.

17 November 1791 A memorandum from Armand Ségun and Antoine Lavoisier is presented to the French Academy of Sciences revealing that breathing and burning are essentially the same thing.

Laut verkünde unsre Freude K.623, a masonic cantata by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (35) to words of Schikaneder, is performed for the first time, at Lodge “zur neugekrönten Hoffnung” in Vienna.  It is his last completed work. (There is considerable disagreement in the sources, some saying this took place on 18 November)

18 November 1791 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (35) appears in public for the last time, at a masonic meeting in Vienna.

20 November 1791 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (35) takes to his bed on about this date.

22 November 1791 Port-au-Prince, Saint Domingue (Haiti) goes up in flames.  Riots ensue.

23 November 1791 Publication of Jan Ladislav Dussek’s (31) Harp Concerto C.53 is announced in The Times of London.

24 November 1791 Joseph Haydn (59), invited by the Prince of Wales, visits the Prince’s brother Frederick, Duke of York at Oatlands.  The Duke was married yesterday in Buckingham Palace to Princess Friederike Charlotte Ulrike, daughter of King Friedrich Wilhelm II of Prussia.  This wedding was only to satisfy British law as the couple was already married in Germany.  Haydn stays for two days and is a big favorite.

With a performance of Sebastiano Nasolini’s Teseo a Stige, Emperor Leopold II reestablishes opera seria in Vienna.

26 November 1791 Three Piano Sonatas op.35 by Leopold Kozeluch (44) are entered at Stationers’ Hall, London.  They are dedicated to Muzio Clementi (39).  Also entered are Kozeluch’s Three Piano Sonatas with flute, violin or cello accompaniment op.34.

29 November 1791 The French Legislative Assembly requires all priests not swearing allegiance to the constitution to do so within eight days or be found guilty of conspiracy against the nation.  They also demand the return of all the royal princes.

Claude Antoine Valdec de Lessart replaces Armand Marc, comte de Montmorin Saint-Hérem as Chief Minister of France.

1 December 1791 When Ferdinand Arbesser retires as first court organist in Vienna, he is succeeded by second organist Johann Georg Albrechtsberger (55).

3 December 1791 After weeks of swelling limbs and joints, fever and headaches, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (35) seems to rally from a treatment of cold compresses and bleeding.

4 December 1791 Afternoon.  From  his sickbed, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (35) sings the alto line, of parts of his Requiem.  Three friends sing the other parts. (some sources feel this is unlikely)

Publication of a Symphony in d minor B.147 by Ignaz Pleyel (34) is announced in the Frankfurter Ristretto.

5 December 1791 00:55  Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart dies in Vienna, aged 35 years, ten months and eight days.  The cause of death is registered as “severe miliary fever” and later diagnosed as “rheumatic inflammatory fever.”

Baron Gottfried van Swieten, patron of Haydn (59) and Mozart, is stripped of all his official positions, having been implicated in the so-called “Illuminati Conspiracy.”

6 December 1791 14:30  The earthly remains of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart are taken from his apartment to St. Stephen’s Cathedral.

15:00  The body of Mozart is consecrated in Crucifix Chapel of St. Stephen’s, Vienna.  Many mourners attend (but we don’t know who for sure).  The body is then moved to the mortuary chapel and in the evening to St. Marx Cemetary.

7 December 1791 Early morning.  The mortal remains of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart are laid to rest in St. Marx Churchyard in a third-class (not pauper’s) grave, as is the practice for the vast majority of Viennese citizens.  The Wiener Zeitung reports “The Royal and Imperial Kammerkompositeur Wolfgang Mozart died during the night of 4-5 December.  From childhood on he was known throughout Europe for his most exceptional musical talent.  Through the successful development and diligent application of his extraordinary natural gifts, he scaled the heights of the greatest masters.  His works, which are loved and admired everywhere, are proof of his greatness--and they reveal the irreplaceable loss which the noble art of music has suffered through his death.”  (Braunbehrens, 406)

10 December 1791 A service in memory of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (†0) takes place in St. Michael’s Church, Vienna, organized by the directors of the Theater-an-der-Wieden.  Some of his unfinished Requiem is performed, partly orchestrated by unknown hands.

11 December 1791 Constanze Mozart addresses an appeal to the Emperor for financial assistance.  Even though Mozart was not in imperial service long enough to deserve a pension, she trusts his generosity.  The court will award her one-third of his salary.

12 December 1791 The First Bank of the United States opens in Philadelphia.

15 December 1791 A funeral ceremony in memory of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart takes place in the Nicolai Church, Prague.  The number of people desiring to attend far exceeds the space in the church and the square outside.

Ignaz Pleyel (34) travels to London with his student Jacob Philipp Pfeffinger, at the invitation of Wilhelm Cramer.  Cramer wants Pleyel for his “professional concerts” in competition to the Haydn (59) series by Salomon.  By coincidence, Pleyel once studied with Haydn.

The Virginia legislature ratifies the first ten ammendments to the United States Constitution, the Bill of Rights.  Since this is the eleventh state to do so, the amendment process is satisfied and they go into effect.

22 December 1791 Three piano trios op.27 by Muzio Clementi (39) are entered at Stationers’ Hall, London.

24 December 1791 Joseph Haydn (59) dines with his former student, Ignaz Pleyel (34) in London.  Pleyel arrived in London yesterday to take up position as composer for the Professional Concert series staged in competition with the Haydn-Salomon concerts.

26 December 1791 The Constitutional Act of 1791 goes into effect.  It is an act of the British government splitting Quebec into Upper Canada (Ontario) and Lower Canada (Quebec).  Representative responsible governments are created in both areas.  Upper Canada is to be ruled by British law, Lower Canada retains French law and traditions.

28 December 1791 Publication of the String Quartets K.575, 589, 590 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (†0) is advertised in the Wiener Zeitung.

©2004-2012 Paul Scharfenberger

5 July 2012