Opus, from the Latin word opus meaning "work", is usually used in the sense of "a work of art". Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. ...

Some composers' musical pieces are identified by opus numbers which generally run either in order of composition or in order of publication. The usual abbreviation is "Op.". "WoO" stands for "Werk ohne Opuszahl" or "work without an opus number" (particularly in the music of Beethoven). "Op. posth." means "opus posthumous" or "work published posthumously"; however, not all composers who had works published after their deaths have these works noted as "Op. posth." publications. Beethoven, for example, continued to generate regular opus numbers after his death, such as the Rage Over a Lost Penny (published as "Op. 129," suggesting a late work, but actually dating from the 1790s). Another example is Felix Mendelssohn, whose last two symphonies (no. 4, the "Italian," and no. 5, the "Reformation") were among many opus numbers brought out by publishers after his early demise. A composer is a person who writes music. ... Someone who performs, composes, or conducts music is a musician. ... The letters WoO, an abbreviation for the German Werk ohne Opuszahl (work without opus number), followed by a number are used to uniquely identify pieces of music that do not have opus numbers. ... Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptized 17 December 1770 – 26 March 1827) was a German composer of classical music, who lived predominantly in Vienna, Austria. ... Publishing is the activity of putting information in the public arena. ... The Rondo a capriccio in G major, Op. ... Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy at the age of thirty Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, now known generally as Felix Mendelssohn (February 3, 1809 – November 4, 1847) was a German composer of the early Romantic period. ... A symphony is an extended piece of music for orchestra, especially one in the form of a sonata. ... The Symphony No. ... Called the Reformation Symphony, was composed by Felix Mendelssohn in honor of the 300th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation initiated by Martin Luther. ...

Certain composers' works, particularly from the baroque and classicist era, when works were less often written specifically for publication, and when publication numbers that do exist are both inconsistent or unhelpful (two opus 1 sets of violin sonatas for Mozart, for instance), have been definitively cataloged by a given scholar, and in such instances these works can be unambiguously referred to by their thematic catalog abbreviations. The Classical period in Western music occurred from about 1730 and 1820, but there was considerable overlap at both ends with preceding and following periods, as is true for all musical eras. ... A violin sonata is a musical composition for solo violin, often (but not always) accompanied by a piano or other keyboard instrument, or by figured bass in the Baroque. ...

• The works of Karl Friedrich Abel, while usually referenced by their original publication opus numbers (for example, his Op. 17 symphonies), also have catalog numbers assigned to them by Walter Knape in his Bibliographisch-thematisches Verzeichnis der Kompositionen von Karl Friedrich Abel (Cuxhaven: W. Knape, 1972).
• Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach's works have two numbering systems: the older Wotquenne numbering (abbreviated as Wq.) devised by Alfred Wotquenne in his catalog of Emanuel's music published in 1905, and the more complete and up-to-date numbering by E. Eugene Helm (abbreviated as H.), as presented in Helm's Thematic Catalogue of the Works of C.P.E. Bach (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1989).
• Johann Christian Bach's works are most often referred to by the opus numbers assigned by their original publishers, which can cause identification difficulties because different publishers used the same opus number. (For instance, "Op. 18" was used for three different sets of J.C. Bach works: "Six Grand Overtures," "Deux sinfonies," and "Four Sonatas and Two Duets.") Because of this, some have used C.S. Terry's John Christian Bach (2nd edition; London: Oxford University Press, 1967) as the basis for a de facto standard, using the page number and incipit number in Terry for identification even though these numbers were not assigned by Terry for cataloguing purposes. (For a convenient short listing of these numbers, see Christoph Wolff, et al., The New Grove Bach Family [NY: Norton, 1983], pp. 341ff..) Numbers are also sometimes used from the Thematic Catalog in the Collected Works of Johann Christian Bach (gen. ed. Ernest Warburton; NY: Garland Publishing, 1985).
• Johann Sebastian Bach's works are referred to by their BWV or Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis numbers after the catalogue by Wolfgang Schmieder.
• Wilhelm Friedemann Bach's works were catalogued by Martin Falck in 1913, and are often referred to by their F (or Falck) numbers.
• Marc Antoine Charpentier's works are referred to by the H or Hitchcock numbers after Hugh Wiley Hitchcock.
• George Frideric Handel's works are often designated by HWV (Händel-Werke-Verzeichnis) numbers as given in the Verzeichnis der Werke Georg Friedrich Händels by Bernd Baselt. (See this page at gfhandel.org for additional details.)
• Joseph Haydn's works are referred to by their Hob or Hoboken numbers after Anthony van Hoboken's 1957 classification.
• Franz Liszt's works are referred to by their S or Searle numbers after Humphrey Searle's 1960s classification The Music of Liszt. Alternately, R is used to refer to Peter Raabe's 1931 reference Franz Liszt: Leben und Schaffen.
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's works are referred to by their K or Köchel numbers, after Ludwig von Köchel. In continental Europe, the German abbreviation "KV" for Köchel-Verzeichnis is more common. See also: List of compositions by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
• Antonio Rosetti's works are usually given with catalog numbers by Sterling E. Murray, Chairman of the Department of Music History at West Chester University of Pennsylvania,[1] although older numbers from Oskar Kaul's 1912 Rosetti catalog sometimes appear as well. For example, Rosetti's popular "La Chasse" symphony is numbered as "Murray A20/Kaul I:18."
• Domenico Scarlatti's harpsichord works have two numbering systems: the L or Longo numbers after Alessandro Longo's edition for piano, and the K or Kirkpatrick numbers after Ralph Kirkpatrick's facsimile edition.
• Franz Schubert's works are referred to by their D or Deutsch numbers after Otto Erich Deutsch's catalogue.
• Antonio Soler's keyboard sonatas are usually referred to by their R number, after the catalogue compiled by Father Samuel Rubio.
• Antonio Vivaldi's works are referred to by their RV or Ryom-Verzeichnis numbers after Peter Ryom's catalogue.
• Richard Wagner's works are referred to by their WWV or Wagner-Werke-Verzeichnis numbers, which also include his non-musical work.

Karl Friedrich Abel (December 22, 1723 – June 20, 1787) was a German composer of the Classical era. ... Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (Weimar, March 8, 1714 – December 14, 1788) was a German musician and composer, the second son of Johann Sebastian Bach and Maria Barbara Bach. ... 1905 (MCMV) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Johann Christian Bach, painted in London by Thomas Gainsborough, 1776 ( Museo Civico, Bologna) Johann Christian Bach (September 5, 1735 – January 1, 1782) was a composer of the Classical era. ... The 1748 Haussmann portrait of the composer Johann Sebastian Bach (21 March 1685–28 July 1750) was a German composer and organist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra and solo instruments drew together almost all of the strands of the baroque style and brought it to its ultimate... Wolfgang Schmieder (1901–1990) was a German musicologist who, in 1950, published the BWV, or Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis (Bach Works Catalogue), a catalog of musical works by Johann Sebastian Bach. ... Wilhelm Friedemann Bach Wilhelm Friedemann Bach (November 22, 1710 – July 1, 1784) was the eldest, and by common repute the most gifted son, of Johann Sebastian Bach; a famous organist, a famous improvisor, and a complete master of counterpoint. ... 1913 (MCMXIII) is a common year starting on Wednesday. ... Marc-Antoine Charpentier (1643 - February 24, 1704) was a French composer of the Baroque era. ... George Frideric Handel (German Georg Friedrich Händel), (February 23, 1685 – April 14, 1759) was a German Baroque music composer who lived much of his life in Great Britain, a leading composer of concerti grossi, operas and oratorios. ... (Franz) Joseph Haydn, (March 31 or April 1, 1732 – May 31, 1809) was a leading composer of the Classical period, called the Father of the Symphony and Father of the String Quartet. Although he is still often called Franz Joseph Haydn, Haydn himself actually never used Franz, signing letters and... Anthony van Hoboken (March 23, 1887 - November 1, 1983) was a Dutch musicologist. ... Franz Liszt (Hungarian: Liszt Ferenc) (October 22, 1811 – July 31, 1886) was a Hungarian virtuoso pianist and composer. ... Humphrey Searle (August 26, 1915 - May 12, 1982) was a British composer. ... W. A. Mozart, 1790 portrait by Johann Georg Edlinger Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (January 27, 1756 – December 5, 1791) is among the most significant and enduringly popular composers of European classical music and is widely regarded as one of historys greatest composers. ... Portrait of von Köchel Ludwig Alois Ferdinand Ritter von Köchel (January 14, 1800 - June 3, 1877) was a musicologist, writer, composer, botanist and publisher. ... This is a selective list of the works of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, for a complete list organized by Köchel number, see Köchel-Verzeichnis. ... Antonio Rosetti (c1750–1792) was a classical era composer, writing around the same time as Haydn and Mozart. ... 1912 (MCMXII) was a leap year starting on Monday. ... Domenico Scarlatti (October 26, 1685 – July 23, 1757) was an Italian composer of the Baroque era. ... Harpsichord in Flemish style; for more info, click the image. ... Steinway Model D A piano is a keyboard instrument, widely used in western music for solo performance, chamber music, and accompaniment, and also as a convenient aid to composing and rehearsal. ... Ralph Kirkpatrick (* June 10, 1911 in Leominster, Massachusetts - † April 13, 1984 in Guilford, Connecticut) was a musician, musicologist and harpsichordist. ... Franz Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (January 31, 1797 – November 19, 1828), was an Austrian composer, considered the last master of the Viennese Classical school and one of the earliest proponents of musical Romanticism. ... Otto Erich Deutsch (September 5, 1883 - November 23, 1967) was an Austrian musicologist. ... Antonio Francisco Javier José Soler Ramos (baptised December 3, 1729 - December 20, 1783) was a Spanish composer. ... For the two explorers who sailed into the Atlantic in 1291, see Vandino and Ugolino Vivaldi. ... Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner (May 22, 1813 in Leipzig – February 13, 1883 in Venice) was an influential German composer, conductor, music theorist, and essayist, primarily known for his groundbreaking symphonic-operas (or music dramas). His compositions are notable for their continuous contrapuntal texture, rich harmonies and orchestration, and elaborate...

See also

• Category:Compositions by composer