April 12 – Possible premiere of Johann Sebastian Bach's last St Mark Passion pastiche (BC D 5) at St. Thomas Church, Leipzig. In addition to two movements by Bach, he incorporates seven arias from George Frideric Handel's Brockes Passion HWV 48 into the work.
August 1748–October 1749 – Repeat (possible concert hall) performance by Bach of Handel's Brockes Passion HWV 48 in a version by Bach.
1748–1749 – Johann Sebastian Bach composes his Mass in B minor BWV 232 (BC E 1).
Holywell Music Room, Oxford, England, the first purpose-built concert hall in Europe, is opened.
Nicola Porpora becomes Kapellmeister at Dresden.
Gregor Werner — Neuer und sehr curios- Musicalischer Instrumental-Calendar
Jean-Philippe Rameau
Zaïs, premiered on February 29
Pygmalion, premiered on August 27
Les surprises de l'Amour, premiered on November 27
February – Hedvig Wigert, opera singer (died 1780)
February 5 – Christian Gottlob Neefe, conductor, teacher (Ludwig van Beethoven was a student), and composer (died 1798)
March 5 — William Shield, violinist and composer (died 1829)
April 20 – Georg Michael Telemann, composer (died 1831)
August 11 – Joseph Schuster, composer (died 1812)
August 31 – Jean-Étienne Despréaux, singer, dancer and composer (died 1820)
November 30 – Joachim Albertini, composer (died 1812)
January 26 – Pierre Rameau, dancing-master (born 1674)
February 26 – Jean-Baptiste Landé, ballet dancer
March 7 - William Corbett, violinist and composer (born 1680)
March 17 - Charles King, choir-master and composer (born 1687)
March 23 — Johann Gottfried Walther, composer and theoretician (born 1684)
November 25 — Isaac Watts, hymn writer (born 1674)
date unknown
Jacques Loeillet, oboist and composer (born 1685)
David Tecchler, luthier (born 1666)
1748 in music Wikipedia (Text) CC BY-SA
