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 30 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
Beethoven: String Quartet, Op. 18 No. 6	—	Op. 18 No. 6	—	violin, Viola	Classical	4
Beethoven: String Quartet, Op. 130 No. 13	—	Op. 130 No. 13	—	violin, Viola	Classical	4
Beethoven: String Quartet, Op. 131 No. 14	—	Op. 131 No. 14	—	violin, Viola	Classical	4
Beethoven: String Quartet, Op. 132 No. 15	—	Op. 132 No. 15	—	violin, Viola	Classical	5
Beethoven: String Quartet, Op. 133 No. 17	—	Op. 133 No. 17	—	violin, Viola	Classical	4
Beethoven: String Quartet, Op. 127 No. 12	—	Op. 127 No. 12	—	violin, Viola	Classical	4
Sonata for Violin and Piano no. 9 in A major, op. 47 "Kreutzer"	—	op. 47	A major	Piano, violin	Classical	0
Sonata for Piano no. 15 in D major, op. 28 "Pastorale"	—	op. 28	D major	Piano	Classical	2
Trio for Piano, Flute and Bassoon, WoO 37	1786-90IMSLP	WoO 37	—	—	Classical	1
Six Variations in D Major on Beethoven's 'Ich denke dein' for Piano, Four Hands, WoO 74	1803Wikidata	WoO 74	D major	Piano	Classical	5
7 Variations on 'Kind, willst du ruhig schlafen' from the Opera 'Das unterbrocene Opferfest' by Peter Winter WoO 75	1799IMSLP	WoO 75	—	—	Classical	4
Eight Variations in C major on a Theme by Count Waldstein for Piano, Four Hands WoO 67	1792IMSLP	WoO 67	C major	Piano	Classical	3
8 Variations on the Song 'Ich hab ein kleines Huttchen nur'	—	—	—	—	Classical	1
Wellingtons Sieg, oder Die Schlacht bei Vittoria	1813IMSLP	—	—	—	Classical	2
Allegretto, WoO 61	1821IMSLP	WoO 61	—	Piano	Classical	1
An die Geliebte, WoO 140	1811IMSLP	WoO 140	—	Voice	Classical	4
Vier Arietten und ein Duett	1809 ca.IMSLP	—	—	Voice	Classical	1
Der Bardengeist, WoO 142	1813IMSLP	WoO 142	—	Voice	Classical	4
Cello Sonata No.5	1815IMSLP	—	—	Piano, Cello	Classical	1
Christus am	1803–04IMSLP	—	—	Tenor, Voice Soprano	Classical	1
3 Equali for Four Trombones, WoO 30	1812 (November)IMSLP	WoO 30	—	—	Classical	3
Eroica Variations Op.35	1802IMSLP	Op.35	—	—	Classical	2
Des Kriegers Abschied, WoO 143	1814IMSLP	WoO 143	—	Voice	Classical	4
Der Ku	1822IMSLP	—	—	Piano, Voice	Classical	4
6 Lieder von Gellert, op. 48	1801–02 ca.IMSLP	op. 48	—	Piano	Classical	1
Meerestille und gluckliche Fahrt	1815IMSLP	—	—	—	Classical	1
Musik zu einem Ritterballet, WoO 1	1790IMSLP	WoO 1	—	Orchestra	Classical	1
Notturno for Viola, Op.42	1796-1797 / 1803IMSLP	Op.42	—	—	Classical	2
Piano Sonata No.4	1796–97IMSLP	—	—	Piano	Classical	2
Piano Sonata No.9	1798IMSLP	—	—	Piano	Classical	2
Piano Sonata No.10, Op.14/2	1798-99IMSLP	Op.14/2	—	—	Classical	3
Piano Sonata No.13	1800–01IMSLP	—	—	Piano	Classical	2
Piano Sonata No.18	1801-02IMSLP	—	—	Piano	Classical	2
Piano Sonata No.22	1804IMSLP	—	—	Piano	Classical	2
Piano Sonata No.25	1809IMSLP	—	—	Piano	Classical	2
Piano Sonata No.28	1815-16IMSLP	—	—	Piano	Classical	2
Piano Sonata No.31	1821IMSLP	—	—	Piano	Classical	2
3 Piano Sonatas, WoO 47	1782-1783IMSLP	WoO 47	—	Piano	Classical	1
Piano Trio No.4, Op.11	1798IMSLP	Op.11	—	Piano, Cello, Clarinet	Classical	3
Piano Trio No.10, Op.44	1792-1800IMSLP	Op.44	—	violin	Classical	1
Rondo, WoO 49	1783IMSLP	WoO 49	—	Piano	Classical	2
Twenty-Five Scottish Songs, Op.108	1815–18IMSLP	Op.108	—	—	Classical	2
Sextet for Winds in E-flat major, Op.71	1796IMSLP	Op.71	E-flat major	—	Classical	2
Sonata for Piano, Four Hands in D Major, Op.6	1796-97IMSLP	Op.6	D major	Piano	Classical	2
2 Sonatinas for Piano, Anh. 5	—	—	—	Piano	Classical	1
Song, Andenken, WoO 136	1808IMSLP	WoO 136	—	Voice	Classical	1
Song, Das Geheimnis, WoO 145	1815IMSLP	WoO 145	—	Voice	Classical	1
Song, La Partenza, WoO 124	1795–96IMSLP	WoO 124	—	Voice	Classical	1

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.