The present writer agrees with Hamilton’s view that this ‘is no paltry change, for the D
natural gives the melody a completely different, depressive, quality and totally changes
the character of this section.’ The present writer does not agree, however, that the D
natural is ‘much inferior’ but does believe that it is less consistent with, interrupts, or
delays the commencement of, the ‘atmosphere of fragile expectancy’ which Liszt creates
towards the very end of the Sonata.
The full truth surrounding the Klindworth D natural cannot be established in the light of
present knowledge and it must remain for the time being, or perhaps forever, an unsolved
mystery in the saga of Franz Liszt’s piano sonata and in the byways of musical history.
KOCHEL
Ludwig von Köchel (1800-1877) was an Austrian musicologist, writer, composer,
botanist and publisher. He is best known for cataloguing the works of Mozart and
originating the K numbers by which they are known. As only about a quarter of Mozart’s
music was published in his lifetime his opus numbers have never been used to any extent.
Köchel published his catalogue in 1862. It consisted of 551 pages and was entitled, in
German, ‘Chronological-Thematic Catalogue of the Complete Musical Works of
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, With an Accounting of His Lost, Incomplete, Arranged,
Doubtful, and Spurious Compositions’. It was the first catalogue of Mozart’s works on
such a scale and with such a level of scholarship behind it. Köchel also arranged
Mozart’s works into 24 categories, which were used by Breitkopf & Hartel when they
published the first complete edition of Mozart’s works from 1877 to 1910, a venture
partly funded by Köchel.
A reference to a work by Mozart these days usually includes a reference to its K number,
for example, ‘Mozart’s piano concerto in A major K488’. This indicates that, according
to Köchel’s reckoning, this was the 488th work Mozart composed. Köchel catalogue
numbers not only attempt to establish chronology but are also a convenient shorthand
way of referring to Mozart’s works. Thus Mozart’s piano concerto in A major K488 is
often referred to as the ‘the K488’ which would have the advantage also of distinguishing
it from its less well-known counterpart the piano concerto in A major K414.
Köchel’s numbers are a quick way to estimate when Mozart composed a particular work.
Where a Kochel number is greater than 100, one may divide it by 25 and add ten. This
gives an estimate of Mozart’s age in years at the time of composition and if one adds
1756, which is the year of Mozart’s birth, this gives an estimate of the year of
composition.
Since 1862, Köchel’s catalogue has undergone several revisions to correct estimates of
dates of composition and to include further material in the light of subsequent
musicological research. A new catalogue is under preparation which takes Köchel’s
original catalogue as its starting point. It relegates all spurious works, drafts and