Each of Mozart's works is designated by a title followed by a number. Together, they look
something like this: Requiem, K. 626. Sometimes, the number is a little more elaborate, like
this: Regina coeli, K. 276/321b. What do the numbers mean?
The letter K refers to Ludwig Ritter von Köchel (1800 — 1877), the Austrian music historian who
made the first comprehensive catalogue of Mozart's compositions in 1862. Based on his best
understanding of the chronology of the compositions, he assigned each piece a number. Thus, K.
1, a minuet in G major, was the work Köchel believed to be the earliest extant composition by
Mozart. The Requiem, Mozart's last composition (left incomplete at his death) bears the highest
number, 626.
The Köchel catalogue has been revised several times since it was first created. At various stages,
the revisers have realized that Köchel's original determination of a date for a particular
composition was incorrect. The works are then sometimes reassigned in the catalogue; the new
number is occasionally given after the one Köchel assigned, as in the case of the Regina coeli.
Mozart scholarship boomed in the second half of the twentieth century, spurred by two important
anniversaries: 1956 marked the 200th anniversary of the composer's birth, and 1991 was the
200th anniversary of his death. During this period, new techniques of physical analysis further
refined our understanding of the chronology of Mozart's compositions. It is now possible, for
example, to study the paper using x-rays; ink can be chemically analyzed, and Mozart's
handwriting has been thoroughly studied. The outcomes of these researches have created the
need for a new listing of Mozart's works. Neal Zaslaw, the eminent American Mozart scholar,
has been working for some time on a complete revision of Köchel's catalogue. You can read
more about "The New Köchel" here:
http://www.mozartproject.org/essays/zaslaw.html .
| Text © 2008 David Schildkret.
If this content is used to prepare a concert program or
other published/presented work
please credit David Schildkret, ASU School of Music, and Music Director,
Mount Desert Summer Chorale (also include the URL of this web page).
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