Editing Ludwig Ritter von Köchel

{{Short description|Austrian musicologist and writer (1800–1877)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2024}}
{{Infobox person
|name        = Ludwig [[Ritter|Ritter von]] Köchel
|image       = Ludwig Alois Ferdinand Ritter von Kochel.jpg
|caption     = Portrait of Ludwig Ritter von Köchel, 1882
|birth_name  = Ludwig Alois Friedrich Köchel
|birth_date  = {{birth date|df=yes|1800|1|14}}
|birth_place = [[Krems an der Donau|Stein]], [[Lower Austria]], [[Archduchy of Austria|Austria]]
|death_date  = {{death date and age|df=yes|1877|6|3|1800|1|14}}
|death_place = [[Vienna]], [[Austria-Hungary]]
|other_names = 
|known_for   = [[Köchel catalogue]]
|occupation  = {{hlist|Musicologist|writer|composer|[[Botany|botanist]]|publisher}}
|nationality = [[Austrians|Austrian]]
}}
[[File:Ritter von Köchel (1842) – Gerd Hruška.png|thumb|Köchel's arms as [[Ritter]], 1842.]]
'''Ludwig [[Ritter|Ritter von]] Köchel''' ({{IPA|de|ˈkœçəl|lang}};<ref group="Note">{{German title Ritter}}</ref> born '''Ludwig Alois Friedrich Köchel'''; 14 January 1800 – 3 June 1877) was an Austrian [[musicologist]], writer, composer, [[botanist]], and publisher. He is best known for cataloguing the works of [[Mozart]] and originating the 'KV-numbers' by which they are known (''KV'' for ''Köchel-Verzeichnis'').

==Life==
Ludwig Alois Friedrich Köchel was born in the town of [[Krems an der Donau|Stein]], [[Lower Austria]]. He studied law in [[Vienna]] and graduated with a PhD in 1827. For fifteen years, he was tutor to the four sons of [[Archduke Charles of Austria]]. Köchel was rewarded with a [[knighthood]]<ref group="Note">[[Ritter]] is a title translated approximately as "[[Sir]]".</ref> and a generous financial settlement, permitting him to spend the rest of his life as a private scholar. Contemporary scientists were greatly impressed by his [[botany|botanical]] researches in North Africa, the [[Iberian Peninsula]], the United Kingdom, the [[North Cape, Norway|North Cape]], and Russia. In addition to botany, he was interested in geology and [[mineralogy]], but also loved music, and was a member of the [[Mozarteum Salzburg]]. He died of cancer at age 77 in Vienna.

==Köchel catalogue==
{{Main|Köchel catalogue}}
In 1862 he published the [[Köchel catalogue]], a chronological and thematic register of the works of Mozart. This catalogue was the first on such a scale and with such a level of scholarship behind it; it has since undergone revisions. Mozart's works are often referred to by their KV-numbers (''cf.'' [[opus number]]); for example, the "Jupiter" symphony, ''[[Symphony No. 41 (Mozart)|Symphony No. 41]]'', KV. 551.  At the same time that Köchel was writing his catalogue [[Otto Jahn]] was making a comprehensive collection of Mozart works and writing a scholarly biography of Mozart.<ref>[[Otto Jahn]], ''Life of Mozart– tr P. D. Townsend Cooper Square Publishers Inc'' {{ISBN|9781108064859}}</ref> When Jahn learned of Köchel's work he turned over his collection to him. Köchel dedicated his catalogue to Jahn.<ref>[[Robert Levin (musicologist)|Robert Levin]], ''Who Wrote the Mozart Four-Wind Concertante pp15-16'' {{ISBN|0-918728-33-9}}</ref>

==Other works==
Moreover, Köchel arranged Mozart's works into twenty-four categories, which were used by [[Breitkopf & Härtel]] when they published [[Alte Mozart-Ausgabe|the first complete edition of Mozart's works]] from 1877 to 1910, a venture partly funded by Köchel.

He also catalogued the works of [[Johann Fux]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Köchel|first=Ludwig von|title=Thematisches Verzeichniss der Compositioner von Johann Josef Fux|publisher=A. Hölder|location=Wien|year=1872|
oclc=9116963}}</ref><ref>Brook, Barry S.; Viano, Richard J. (1997) {{Google books|KlnOMKHsthUC|Thematic Catalogues in Music: An Annotated Bibliography}}. Pendragon Press. page 146. {{ISBN|0-918728-86-X}}.</ref>

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=Note}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Ludwig von Köchel}}
* {{Gutenberg author |id=4812| name=Ludwig Ritter von Köchel}}
* {{Internet Archive author |sname=Ludwig Ritter von Köchel |sopt=w}} 
* {{IMSLP|id=Köchel, Ludwig}}
* {{DNB-Portal|116274352}}
* {{Austriaforum|AEIOU/Köchel,_Ludwig_Ritter_von|}}
* {{Nömuseum|p|956}}
* [http://www.koechelgesellschaft.at/ Ludwig Ritter von Köchel Society]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kochel, Ludwig Von}}

[[Category:Scholars from the Austrian Empire]]
[[Category:Scholars from Austria-Hungary]]
[[Category:Mozart scholars]]
[[Category:1800 births]]
[[Category:1877 deaths]]
[[Category:Composers from the Austrian Empire]]