CLASSIFIED SUMMARY OF BEETHOVEN'S WORKS Thirty-two pianoforte sonatas: I 4-hand sonata; io violin sonatas; 5 violoncello sonatas; i horn sonata; 7 pianoforte trios (I with clarinet) ; 5 string trios; I trio for flute, violin and viola; I trio for 2 oboes and cor anglais; 16 string quartets and a fugue originally intended for the finale of the quartet, op. i 3o ; i quintet for pianoforte and wind instruments (also freely arranged as a quartet for pianoforte and strings) ; 2 string quintets and a quintet arrangement of the trio, op. i, No. 3 ; 2 sextets, one for strings and 2 horns, the other for wind instruments; I septet; I octet for wind, arranged from the string quintet, op. 4 (not vice versa, as is usually believed) ; 9 symphonies (the 9th with a choral finale) ; 5 pianoforte concertos, i violin concerto, and I triple concerto for pianoforte, violin and violoncello.
Two masses (C major, op. 89; Missa Solemnis in D, op. 123) ; oratorio, Christus am Olberge; opera, Fidelio (first version en titled Leonora) ; overture and incidental music to Goethe's Eg mont; ballet, Die Geschopfe des Prometheus; 2 festival dramatic pieces d'occasion, Die Ruinen von Athen and Konig Stephan; i fantasia for pianoforte, chorus and orchestra; songs of which the Liederkreis, op. 98 (a continuous song-cycle), is important, while the 6 religious songs, op. 39, and the long aria Adelaide are the best known of the remaining works in this medium, which was not Beethoven's forte.
The pianoforte sets of variations include those on a Diabelli waltz, the greatest variation work since Bach's Goldberg varia tions; the Prometheus variations, op. 35 (foreshadowing the finale of the Eroica symphony) ; the 32 variations in C minor (a great chaconne, without opus number) ; and a wonderful early set of 24 on an air of Rhigini. Several smaller sets are worth study. The Andante in F originally belonged to the JI'aldstein sonata; and the fantasia, op. 77, foreshadows the choral fantasia and the finale to the 9th Symphony. Three sets of Bagatelles range from work revised from Juvenilia to Beethoven's last pieces for the pianoforte.
Two early cantatas are interesting as containing material after wards used in Fidelio. An early symphony was published in 1912.