[Jenacen]

I've recently really gotten into classical music, and I think I've got about 14 hours worth of the stuff on my iPod, so I'm really enjoying this! Question though.

I notice that Mozart's pieces always have a K. ___ in the title, with a number sitting in there, such as K. 626 for the Requiem piece, or The Marriage of Figaro, K492. Also, J.S. Bach has something similar, but this time its BWV___, like Brandenberg Concert No. 1 BWV 1046, or Concerto for Harpsichord & Orchestra in D Minor, BWV 1052. What do these mean? Was it just a way they liked to organize their music or what? Thank you in advance.

[Nate]

Numbers such as the K and BWV numbers (and generally anything else that isn't a standard opus, sonata, or other similar number) indicate a numbering from a long-ago musicologist that compiled and cataloged all (or most) of a composer's works. Many composers didn't use the typical Op. X, No. Y numbering, and many used numbers, titles, and names that weren't easily cataloged. When studying the works of other composers started to become more common, a few musicologists took to numbering off the various works of some of their favorite composers. The numbers these musicologists gave to works generally have very little to do with the works themselves or the composers who wrote them. Sometimes, they are arranged chronologically, but that's not really the norm. They're just numbers. The K numbers for Mozart are the work of one musicologist in cataloging Mozart's works, the BWV numbers for Bach are the work of a different musicologist working on Bach's works, etc. Today, the numbers are used as a generally-accepted way of referencing a particular work by a composer whose works have been cataloged in this manner.

[MrCrabby]

Side note:
K = Köchel (pronounced somewhat like "Kershul")
BWV = Bach Werke Verseichness

[Jenacen]

Hey, thank you very much guys, I appreciate it