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 136 of 161
Sonata D minor Op. 31, No. 2
Sonata E flat major Op. 31, No. 3
Sonata G minor Op. 49, No. 1
Sonata G major Op. 49, No. 2
Sonata C major Op. 53
Sonata F major Op. 54
Sonata F minor Op. 57
Alla Ingharese quasi un Capriccio [Rage over the last penny], G major, op. 129
7 Bagatelles, op. 33
Bagatelle, op. 126
Fantasy, op. 77
Polonaise, C major, op. 89
Prelude, op. 39
Rondo, C major, op. 51,1
Rondo, G major, op. 51,2
2 Sonatinas (F and G major), Anh. 5
Landler in D Major, WoO 15, No. 2
Landler in D Minor, WoO 15, No. 4
Landler in D Major, WoO 11, No. 2
Beethoven: Romance for Violin and Orchestra G major op. 40
Beethoven: Romance for Violin and Orchestra F major op. 50
Sonata in F, op. 10, no. 2
Sonata in C Minor, op. 13 Grande Sonate Pathetique
Sonata in E, op. 14, no. 1
Sonata in G, op. 79
Grosse Fuge, Op. 133/134
March in C Major, Op. 45, No. 1
March in D Major, Op. 45, No. 3
March in Eb Major, Op. 45, No. 2
6 Themes with Variations, Op. 105
Sympathy No.3 'Eroica'
Symphony No.6 In F Op.68 'Pastorale'
9 Variations on a march by Dressler (first edition), WoO 63
The Metronome - theme from Symphony No. 8
Overture "Leonore No. 1"
Woo47 No. 1, E Flat Major/Es-Dur
Woo47 No. 2, F Minor/F-Moll
Woo47 No. 3, D Major/D-Dur
Op. 2 No. 1, F Minor/F-Moll
Op. 2 No. 2, A Major/A-Dur
Op. 2 No. 3, C Major/C-Dur
Op. 49 No. 1, G Minor/G-Moll
Op. 49 No. 2, G Major/G-Dur
Op. 7, E Flat Major/Es-Dur
Op. 10 No. 1, C Minor/C-Moll
Op. 10 No. 2, F Major/F-Dur
Op. 10 No. 3, D Major/D-Dur
Op. 13 , C Minor/C-Moll
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.