Composer
Ludwig van Beethoven
1770–1827
7,703 works in the index
- Era
- Classical
- Nationality
- Electorate of Cologne
- Born in
- Bonn
Beethoven sits on the hinge between the Classical style he inherited and the Romantic one he made possible, and the catalogue spans both: thirty-two piano sonatas, sixteen string quartets, nine symphonies, five piano concerti and a large body of songs and chamber music.
The piano sonatas are the most-bought and the most misjudged. The famous ones — the Moonlight, the Pathétique, the Waldstein — are advanced works, and the first movement of the Moonlight being playable early does not make the rest of it so. The genuine starting points are the two sonatas of Op. 49 and the bagatelles, including the one everyone knows as Für Elise.
He revised heavily and his manuscripts are difficult, so editions disagree about specific notes and markings more than you might expect from a composer this recent. If you are working with a teacher, use theirs.
Catalogue
Works page 135 of 161
Opus 30, No. 1
Opus 30, No. 2
Opus 30, No. 3
Opus 47, No. 1
Opus 96, No. 1
Trio [Ghosts trio], D major, op. 70,1
Trio, E flat major, op. 70,2
Trio, B flat major, op. 97
Trio [variations about a song Ich bin der Schneider Kakadu], G major, op. 121a
Op.31, No.1
Op.31, No.2
Op.31, No.3
Op.49, No.1
Op.49, No.2
Op.53
Op.54
Op.57
Op.78
Op.79
Op.81
Op.90
Op.101
Op.106
Op.109
Op.110
Op.111
My Herat At Thy Sweet Voice (Samson And Delilah)
(Simplified: 2nd movt theme—also transposed to C)
Symphony No. 6 In F Major, Opus 68 "Pastorale"
Symphony No. 9 In D Minor, Opus 125
Overture "Leonore" No. 3 Opus 72a
The 9 Symphonies, Leonore No. 3, Violin Concerto
String Quartet Opus 18 No. 6 in Bb Major - Ist Movement
Sonata Op 13
Sonata, Opus 31, No. 2
Sonata, Opus 27, No. 2
Moonlight Sonata, Op. 27, No. 2, Movement 1
Symphony No. 1 In C, Opus 21
Symphony No. 2 In D, Opus 36
Symphony No. 3 In Eb, Opus 55
Symphony No. 4 In Bb, Opus 60
Beethoven's Ninth
Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 5, E flat major, op. 73
Sonata A flat major Op. 26
Sonata E flat major Op. 27, No. 1
Sonata C sharp minor Op. 27, No. 2
Sonata D major Op. 28
Sonata G major Op. 31, No. 1
Dates, era and nationality from Wikidata, matched on name and verified against any dates already held here. The biography above is our own. Portrait: Joseph Karl Stieler, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.