Ludwig Ritter von Köchel facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Ludwig Ritter von Köchel
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Ludwig Ritter von Köchel
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| Born | 14 January 1800 |
| Died | 3 June 1877 (aged 77) |
| Nationality | Austrian |
| Occupation | musicologist, writer, composer, botanist and publisher |
| Known for | Köchel catalogue |
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Ludwig Alois Friedrich Ritter von Köchel was an amazing Austrian scholar born in 1800. He was many things: a music expert, a writer, a composer, a plant scientist (botanist), and even a publisher. He is most famous for creating a special list of all the music written by the famous composer Mozart. This list uses "KV-numbers" to identify each piece, like KV 551 for a specific symphony. The "KV" stands for Köchel-Verzeichnis, which means "Köchel's List."
About Ludwig Köchel's Life
Ludwig Köchel was born in a town called Stein, in Austria, on January 14, 1800. He went to school in Vienna and studied law. He earned his PhD degree in 1827.
For 15 years, Köchel worked as a teacher. He taught the four sons of Archduke Charles of Austria, who was a very important person. Because of his great work, Köchel was given a special honor: he became a knight. He also received a lot of money. This allowed him to spend the rest of his life studying whatever he wanted. He became a "private scholar," meaning he did his research without needing a regular job.
Köchel was very interested in science. He traveled a lot to study plants (botany) in places like North Africa, Spain, the United Kingdom, and Russia. Scientists at the time were very impressed by his discoveries. Besides plants, he also loved studying rocks and minerals. He was also a big fan of music and was part of the Mozarteum Salzburg, a famous music school. He passed away in Vienna in 1877 when he was 77 years old.
The Famous Köchel Catalogue
In 1862, Köchel published his most famous work: the Köchel catalogue. This was a huge book that listed all of Mozart's musical pieces in order from when they were written. It also described what each piece was about. This catalogue was the first of its kind. It was very detailed and showed how much Köchel knew about music. People still use it today, even though it has been updated a few times.
When people talk about Mozart's music, they often use "KV-numbers." For example, Mozart's famous "Jupiter" symphony is also known as Symphony No. 41, KV. 551. The "KV" tells you it's from Köchel's list.
While Köchel was working on his catalogue, another scholar named Otto Jahn was also collecting Mozart's works and writing a book about Mozart's life. When Jahn found out about Köchel's amazing project, he gave all his notes and collections to Köchel. Köchel was very grateful and dedicated his catalogue to Jahn.
Other Important Work
Besides his famous catalogue, Köchel also organized Mozart's music into 24 different groups. These groups were used by a music publisher called Breitkopf & Härtel. They used Köchel's system when they published the first complete collection of all Mozart's works between 1877 and 1910. Köchel even helped pay for some of this huge project!
He also created a similar list for the works of another composer named Johann Fux.
See also
In Spanish: Ludwig von Köchel para niños
