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 38 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
Sonata No.32 c minor Op.111	—	Op.111	—	—	Classical	0
Op. 132, Movement 4 - Score	—	Op. 132	—	String Quartet	Classical	0
Three Songs, Op. 83, No. 2: Sehnsucht	—	Op. 83, No. 2	—	Piano, Voice	Classical	0
3 Sonatas WoO 47 no 3 in D major	—	WoO 47 no 3	D major	Piano	Classical	3
Sonata No 14 in C sharp minor Opus 27 No 2	—	Opus 27 No 2	C-sharp minor	Piano	Classical	1
Theme from Symphony No. 5, Op. 67 (1st Movement)	—	Op. 67	—	Piano	—	2
Piano Concerto No.5 (Emperor), Eb Major, Op.73, Theme from the Second Movement	—	Op.73	—	Piano	Classical	3
Beethoven: Three Duets	—	—	—	—	Classical	3
Best of Beethoven: E	—	—	—	—	Classical	3
Symphony No. 7 (Second Movement): E	—	—	—	—	Classical	3
Symphony No. 7 (Second Movement): B	—	—	—	Orchestra	Classical	3
Beethoven: Trio No. 10, in E flat Major, 14 Variations (for piano, violin, and cello)	—	—	E-flat major	—	Classical	3
Beethoven: Contra Dances	—	—	—	Piano	Classical	3
Beethoven: Three German Dances	—	—	—	Piano	Classical	3
Heroic Variations: E	—	—	—	—	Classical	3
Sonata No. 19, Op. 49, No. 1 in G Minor	—	Op. 49, No. 1	G minor	—	—	29
Symphony No.6 In F Major , 1st Movement Themes	—	—	F major	Piano	Classical	2
Nine Variations On "Quant' E Piu Bello"	—	—	—	—	—	4
Six Variations In G Major, WoO 77	—	WoO 77	G major	—	—	4
Six Variations On A Swiss Song In F Major, WoO 64	—	WoO 64	F major	—	—	4
Sonatina No. 2 F Major Anh. 5	—	—	—	—	—	0
Sonata No. 3 C Major Op. 2 No. 3	—	Op. 2 No. 3	—	—	—	2
Sonata No. 5 c minor Op.10 No. 1	—	Op.10 No. 1	—	—	—	2
Sonata No. 9 E Major Op.14 No. 1	—	Op.14 No. 1	—	—	—	0
Sonata No.19 g minor Op.49 No. 1	—	Op.49 No. 1	—	—	—	0
Adelaide - Einsam wandelt dein Freund, Op.46	—	Op.46	—	Piano	—	0
Beethoven: String Quartet, Op. 135 No. 16	—	Op. 135 No. 16	—	violin, Viola	Classical	3
March for Winds	—	—	—	Flute, Bassoon, Horn, Clarinet	—	3
Concerto for Piano and Orchestra no. 4 in G major, op. 58: II. Andante con moto	—	op. 58	G major	Piano	Classical	2
Rondo for Piano in G major, op. 51 no. 2: Andante cantabile e grazioso	—	op. 51 no. 2	G major	Piano	Classical	0
Triumphal March for Christoph Kuffner's tragedy Tarpeja, WoO 2a	1813IMSLP	WoO 2a	—	Orchestra	Classical	1
Waltz, WoO 85	1825IMSLP	WoO 85	—	Piano	Classical	2
Allegretto, WoO 56	1803IMSLP	WoO 56	—	Piano	Classical	2
Andantes and Adagios , transcriptions for organ	—	—	—	—	Classical	0
7 Ländler, WoO 11	1799IMSLP	WoO 11	—	—	Classical	1
2 Marches for Military Band, WoO 18-19	1809-10; rev. 1810, 1822-23IMSLP	WoO 18	—	—	Classical	2
Piano Sonata No.5	1795–97 ca.IMSLP	—	—	Piano	Classical	1
Piano Sonata No.19	1797IMSLP	—	—	Piano	Classical	1
Piano Sonata No.23	1804–06IMSLP	—	—	Piano	Classical	1
Song, Abschiedsgesang, WoO 102	—	WoO 102	—	Voice	Classical	1
Song, An die Hoffnung, Op.94	1813–15IMSLP	Op.94	—	Voice	Classical	1
ong Der Liebende, WoO 139	1809IMSLP	WoO 139	—	Voice	Classical	1
Song, Der freie Mann, WoO 117	1792, rev.1794IMSLP	WoO 117	—	Voice	Classical	1
Song, Kriegslied der	1797IMSLP	—	—	Voice	Classical	1
String quartet No.11	1810IMSLP	—	—	—	Classical	1
Worship Of God In Nature, The	—	—	—	—	Classical	2
Der treue Johnie	—	—	—	Low Voice	Classical	2
Mailied	—	—	—	Piano, Voice, Low Voice	Classical	5

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.