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Portrait of Ludwig van Beethoven

Composer

Ludwig van Beethoven

German composer (1770-1827)

1770–1827

6,206 catalog entries

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
Entries with composition dates
358 of 6,206

These details describe the indexed sheet music, including arrangements.

Grouped works and collections

Find collection editions and individual pieces together on one page.

Browse 71 grouped works and collections

Catalogue

Works page 68 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
WorkYear composedCatalogue / opusKey in titleListed instrumentsGenreEditions
Sonata No 13 in E flat major Opus 27 No 1 — Opus 27 No 1E-flat major PianoClassical 1
Sonata No 18 in E flat major Opus 31 No 3 — Opus 31 No 3E-flat major PianoClassical 0
Sonata No 17 in D minor Opus 31 No 2 — Opus 31 No 2D minor PianoClassical 0
Sonata No 16 in G major Opus 31 No 1 — Opus 31 No 1G major PianoClassical 0
Sonata Opus 10 No 2 F major — Opus 10 No 2— PianoClassical 0
Sonata Opus 10 No 3 D major — Opus 10 No 3— PianoClassical 0
Sonata Opus 13 in C minor — Opus 13C minor PianoClassical 0
Sonata Opus 14 No 1 and 2 — Opus 14 No 1— PianoClassical 1
Sonata Opus 14 No 2 in G major — Opus 14 No 2G major PianoClassical 1
Sonata Opus 10 No 1, 2 and 3 — Opus 10 No 1— PianoClassical 0
Sonata Opus 14 No 1 in E major — Opus 14 No 1E major PianoClassical 0
Sonata Opus 10 No 1 in C minor — Opus 10 No 1C minor PianoClassical 0
Sonata Opus 2 No 2 in A major — Opus 2 No 2A major PianoClassical 0
Sonata Opus 2 No 1, 2 and 3 — Opus 2 No 1— PianoClassical 0
Sonata Opus 2 No 3 in C major — Opus 2 No 3C major PianoClassical 0
Sonata Opus 27 No 1 and 2 — Opus 27 No 1— PianoClassical 0
Sonata Opus 26 in A flat major — Opus 26A-flat major PianoClassical 1
Sonata Opus 49 No 1 in B flat major — Opus 49 No 1B-flat major PianoClassical 1
Sonata Opus 22 in B flat major — Opus 22B-flat major PianoClassical 1
Sonata Opus 27 No 1 in E flat major — Opus 27 No 1E-flat major PianoClassical 0
Sonata Opus 53 in C major — Opus 53C major PianoClassical 0
Sonata Opus 49 No 2 in G major — Opus 49 No 2G major PianoClassical 0
Sonata Opus 2 No 1 in F minor — Opus 2 No 1F minor PianoClassical 0
Sonata Opus 54 in F major — Opus 54F major PianoClassical 1
Sonata Opus 78 in F sharp major — Opus 78F-sharp major PianoClassical 1
Sonatina Opus 79 in G major — Opus 79G major PianoClassical 0
Sonata Opus 7 in E flat major — Opus 7E-flat major PianoClassical 0
Rondo WoO 49 in A major — WoO 49A major PianoClassical 0
Grosse Fugue Op. 133 — Op. 133— String QuartetClassical 0
Sonata Opus 81a in E flat Major — Opus 81aE-flat major PianoClassical 0
Sonata No. 18 In E-flat Major, Op. 31, No. 3 — Op. 31, No. 3E-flat major PianoClassical 2
Sonata No. 24 In F-sharp Major, Op. 78 — Op. 78F-sharp major PianoClassical 2
Sonata No. 31 In A-flat Major, Op. 110 — Op. 110A-flat major PianoClassical 3
Seven Bagatelles, Op. 337 listed pieces — Op. 33See contents See editions— Compare editions
Beethoven: Sonata No. 14 in C — —— PianoClassical 1
Beethoven: Rondo a Capriccio — —— PianoClassical 1
Finale (from Symphony No. 5): Piano Accompaniment — —— OrchestraClassical 1
Best of Beethoven: Bells — —— —Classical 1
Beethoven's First Symphony, Second Movement: Flute — —— OrchestraClassical 1
Beethoven: Duet for Viola and Cello — —— —Classical 2
Symphony No 7, 2nd Movement9 listed pieces — —See contents See editions— Compare editions
Best of Beethoven: Flute — —— —Classical 1
Best of Beethoven: 1st Trombone — —— —Classical 1
Best of Beethoven: 1st Percussion — —— —Classical 1
Beethoven's Symphony No. 5, 1st Movement: 1st Violin — —— OrchestraClassical 1
Beethoven's Symphony No. 5, 1st Movement: Flute — —— OrchestraClassical 1
Finale (from Symphony No. 5): 1st Violin — —— OrchestraClassical 1
Finale (from Symphony No. 5): 2nd Violin — —— OrchestraClassical 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.