Composer

Ludwig van Beethoven

German composer (1770-1827)

1770–1827

6,206 works in the index

Born: 1770
Died: 1827
Birthplace: Bonn
Place of death: Vienna
Citizenship / historical state: Electorate of Cologne; Austrian Empire
Period (estimated from birth year): Classical

Biography

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.

Life and musical career

Occupations: composer
Teachers: Christian Gottlob Neefe; Joseph Haydn; Antonio Salieri; Johann Baptist Schenk; Johann Georg Albrechtsberger; Gilles van der Eeden; Muzio Clementi; Andrea Luchesi
Recorded memberships: Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences
Instruments played: piano; violin
Genres: classical music; art music; opera; symphony; sonata
Movements: Classical period; Romantic music
Notable works: Für Elise; Symphony No. 9; Piano Sonata No. 14; Missa Solemnis; Piano Sonata No. 8; Symphony No. 5; Symphony No. 6; Piano Sonata No. 21; Piano Sonata No. 23; Violin Sonata No. 9; Symphony No. 3; Fidelio
Awards: Bröckemännche Award
Official website: https://beethoven.de
Native languages: German
Languages used: German
VIAF ID: 32182557
ISNI: 0000000121268987
GND ID: 118508288
Library of Congress ID: n79107741
MusicBrainz ID: 1f9df192-a621-4f54-8850-2c5373b7eac9

Recorded in Wikidata. Affiliations may refer to earlier stages of the composer's career.

In this catalogue

Common listed instruments: Piano, violin, Cello, Orchestra, Voice
Genres represented: Classical, pop, Jazz, Pop, Christmas
Works with composition dates: 358 of 6,206

These details describe the indexed sheet music, including arrangements.

Catalogue

Works page 22 of 130

Years are composition dates where known. Instruments describe editions in our catalogue and may include arrangements. A dash means the detail is not recorded.

Works and available sheet music details
Work	Year composed	Catalogue / opus	Key in title	Listed instruments	Genre	Editions
Six variations for piano on an original theme in D major, Op.76	1809IMSLP	Op.76	D major	Piano	Classical	3
Violin Sonata No.3	1797-98IMSLP	—	—	—	Classical	1
Waltz, WoO 84	1824IMSLP	WoO 84	—	Piano	Classical	3
Wind Octet in E-flat major, Op.103	1792-93Wikidata	Op.103	E-flat major	—	Classical	2
Cadenzas for Piano Concertos 1 to 4	—	—	—	—	Classical	2
12 Contredanses for Orchestra, WoO 14	1791-1802IMSLP	WoO 14	—	—	Classical	1
3 Duets for Clarinet and Bassoon, WoO 27	1790-92IMSLP	WoO 27	—	—	Classical	2
Sonata for Horn and Piano	1800 (April 17)IMSLP	—	—	Piano, Guitar, Cello, Horn	Classical	4
6 Ländler for Two Violins and Bass (Cello), WoO 15	1802IMSLP	WoO 15	—	Cello	Classical	4
6 National Airs with Variations for Flute and Piano, Op.105	1818–19IMSLP	Op.105	—	—	Classical	2
10 National Airs with Variations for Flute and Piano, Op.107	1818–19IMSLP	Op.107	—	—	Classical	2
Piano Concerto No.2	1787-89 (revised 1798, 1801)Wikidata	—	—	violin, strings, Timpani	Classical	3
Piano Quartet No.1 in E-flat, WwO 36	1785IMSLP	—	—	Piano, violin	Classical	2
Piano Sonata No.1	1793-95IMSLP	—	—	Piano	Classical	2
Piano Sonata No.8	1798Wikidata	—	—	Piano	Classical	3
Piano Sonata No.16	1801–02IMSLP	—	—	Piano	Classical	3
Piano Sonata No.20	1795-96IMSLP	—	—	Piano	Classical	2
Piano Sonata No.24	1809IMSLP	—	—	Piano	Classical	2
Piano Sonata No.30	1820IMSLP	—	—	Piano	Classical	2
Piano Sonata No.32	1821–22IMSLP	—	—	Piano	Classical	2
Rondo for Violin and Piano in G Major WoO 41	1793-94IMSLP	WoO 41	G major	—	Classical	2
Song, Abendlied unterm gestirnten Himmel, WoO 150	1820 March 4IMSLP	WoO 150	—	Piano, Voice	Classical	2
Song, Als die Geliebte sich trennen wollte, WoO 132	1806IMSLP	WoO 132	—	Voice	Classical	1
Song, An einen Säugling, WoO 108	1783IMSLP	WoO 108	—	Voice	Classical	1
Song, Das Glück der Freundschaft, Op.88	1803IMSLP	Op.88	—	Voice	Classical	1
Song, Der Mann vom Wort, Op.99	1816IMSLP	Op.99	—	Voice	Classical	2
Song, Der Wachtelschlag, WoO 129	1803IMSLP	WoO 129	—	Voice	Classical	1
Song, Resignation, WoO 149	1814–17IMSLP	WoO 149	—	Voice	Classical	1
6 Songs, Op. 75	1809IMSLP	Op. 75	—	Voice	Classical	3
Drei Gesänge von Goethe	1810IMSLP	—	—	Voice	Classical	1
String Quartet No. 12	1823-24Wikidata	—	—	—	Classical	1
3. Credo	—	—	—	Voice, Orchestra, Choir	Classical	2
Andenken	—	—	—	Piano, Voice, Low Voice	Classical	3
Sonata, E flat major, op. 12,3 (Violin and piano)	—	op. 12	—	Piano, violin	Classical	0
Opus 30, No. 2	—	Opus 30, No. 2	—	Piano, violin	Classical	2
Trio, E flat major, op. 1,1 (Piano trios)	—	op. 1	—	Piano, Cello, violin	Classical	1
Trio, C minor, op. 1,3 (Piano trios)	—	op. 1	—	Piano, Cello, violin	Classical	2
Sonata No. 1Op. 5, No. 1	—	—	—	Piano, Cello, violin	Classical	3
Sonatine	—	—	—	Piano, Guitar, Flute, Mandolin, Accordion, Viola	Classical	6
Trio IV	—	—	—	Piano, Cello, violin	Classical	1
Trio V	—	—	—	Piano, Cello, violin	Classical	3
Trio IX	—	—	—	Piano, Cello, violin	Classical	2
Cello Sonata No.1, Op.5, No.1	—	Op.5, No.1	—	Piano, Cello	Classical	3
Cello Sonata No.2, Op.5, No.2	—	Op.5, No.2	—	Piano, Cello	Classical	5
Twelve Variations On 'See, The Conqu'ring Hero Comes'	—	—	—	Piano, Cello	Classical	2
No. 2 in F Major, Opus 50	—	Opus 50	F major	Piano, violin	Classical	2
10 Variations.	—	—	—	Piano, Cello, violin	Classical	2
Violin Sonata No. 2, op. 12, no. 2	—	op. 12, no. 2	—	Piano	Classical	2

Biographical record: Wikidata, matched on name and checked against dates held in the catalogue. The period label is an estimate from birth year. The biography above is our own. Authority record: VIAF 32182557. Portrait: Joseph Karl Stieler, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.