In addition to his successful stage works he composed several tutorial methods for violin, flute, piano and singing (c. 1790).
He continued to work as the second viola player at the Theater in der Leopoldstadt orchestra until his death in Vienna a year later.
It was not unusual for travelling companies to make an excursion from the nearby Saint Petersburg to Viipuri, Finland being an autonomous Grand Duchy in the Russian Empire at the time.
In his "Sei variazioni" (c. 1810) Kauer introduced the xylophone into western classical music, and from that time this instrument has been adopted as a regular element of the orchestra.
His music is rarely performed in modern times, but has been shown to be highly imaginative, tuneful, and worthy of further study.