Johann briefly lost his job in 1775 when some "minor infraction" (Robbins Landon) brought upon him the wrath of Prince Nikolaus's estates director, the short-tempered Peter Ludwig von Rahier. The position was restored at Joseph Haydn's intervention. Johann was again unemployed from 1790 (when Prince Anton Esterházy succeeded Nikolaus and abolished most of the family's musical establishment) until 1795 (when Anton's successor Nikolaus II revived it). Nothing is known about what Johann did during this time. Following his reinstatement, he continued in the service of the Esterházy family for the remainder of his life, dying in Eisenstadt at the age of 63.