Johann Sebastian Bach begins to lose his sight.
Carl Heinrich Graun becomes Kapellmeister to Frederick II of Prussia. Johann Joachim Quantz becomes Frederick's flute teacher.
Ferdinando Bertoni arrives in Bologna where he becomes a pupil of Giovanni Battista Martini.
December 26 – The Teatro Regio (Turin) is inaugurated with a performance of Francesco Feo's opera Arsace.
Thomas Arne – Alfred (masque), including the song, "Rule Britannia"
George Frideric Handel – Op. 6, 12 concerti grossi
Bernardo Aliprandi – Semiramide riconosciuta
Vincenzo Ciampi – La Beatrice
Baldassare Galuppi – Gustavo primo re di Svezia
Maurice Greene – The Judgement of Hercules
Luca Antonio Predieri – Zenobia
February 4 – Carl Michael Bellman, poet and composer (died 1795)
May 9 – Giovanni Paisiello, composer (died 1816)
August 10 – Samuel Arnold (composer), composer (died 1802)
November 4 – Augustus Montague Toplady, hymn-writer (died 1778)
December - Elisabeth Olin, operatic soprano (died 1828)
unknown date
John Antes, composer (died 1811)
Sir Peter Beckford, English peer (died 1811), patron of Muzio Clementi
Samuel Webbe, composer (died 1816)
probable – Anna Bon, singer and composer
January 5 – Antonio Lotti, composer (born 1667)
January 13 – William Turner, singer and composer (born 1651)
January 25 – Geminiano Giacomelli, composer (born 1692)
February 9 – Vincent Lübeck, organist and composer (born 1654)
October 14 – Domenico Alberti, composer (born c.1710)
unknown date
Edward Purcell, organist (born 1689)
Poul Christian Schindler, composer (born 1648)
probable - François Dieupart, French composer (born after 1667)
1740 in music Wikipedia (Text) CC BY-SA
