Zur Frühgeschichte des Thematischen Verzeichnisses. Ludwig Ritter von Köchels „wissenschaftliche" Systematisierung

Abstract

In the 19th century - starting with Ludwig Ritter von Kochel's Chronologisch-thematisches Verzeichniss sämmtlicher Tonwerke Wolfgang Amade Mozart's - philologically elaborated Thematic Catalogues completed the inventory of music as well as publisher's- and auction catalogues as a third category of specification of a musical repertoire. Köchel's procedure has been considered as pioneer work in the introduction of a fundamental and very specific kind of text. However, the principle of classification for his systematics put at the beginning is - typical for his approach in general - on the one hand based upon handwritten catalogues of Mozart's work and on the other hand influenced by the conventions of the previously edited extended publisher's catalogues of the works of Ludwig van Beethoven and Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy at Breitkopf & Härtel's, Leipzig. Thus Köchel's work must be regarded as a strategy following up tendencies of his time that - despite the respect it deserves due to its completeness and accuracy - appears as an almost accidental basis.