Just what exactly does BWV mean?

3/17/2013

One of my pet peeves about classical music is how confusing the lingo and traditions can be for the anyone who's not a classical music junkie. When I was updating my site with information about the organ & voice concert I'm singing on in April, I encountered one of many cryptic terms: BWV. What on earth does this mean?

BWV stands for Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis, or Bach Works Catalog. Wolfgang Schmieder assigned numbers to J.S. Bach's compositions in 1950 for the cataloge Thematisch-systematisches Verzeichnis der musikalischen Werke von Johann Sebastian Bach (Thematic-systematic catalog of musical works of Johann Sebastian Bach). The numbers are assigned thematically (based on the opening musical notes or the main musical theme of the piece), rather than chronologically.

So, there you have it: one of the classical music world's mysteries revealed!

10 Comments

Mario Bertini

8/14/2021 09:14:01 am

Thank you.

Luis J Cabezas

10/12/2021 08:58:29 am

Ausghetzeichnet,...meine guten Feunden,...oder ist es, Feundenen...such(!).
Ich kann nicht,...irrinnierten. Got,...mit uns!

Jo Dee

12/8/2021 12:43:32 pm

I’m listening to an organ concert, Jason Klein-Mendoza performing, and the opportunity to look up BVW 659-661. Thank you for explanation!

Sara VanValkenburg link

5/26/2023 03:46:18 am

BWV I LOVE THIS SO MUCH so Thank you for loving Bach. I think he performs miracles of music and I have become a Bach Specialist. It does help to know Deutsch!
Danke Sehr!

LOUIE

7/4/2024 09:34:58 am

VERY KOOL!

Zayne Michaels link

7/21/2023 04:20:24 am

Hello mate, great blog post

Rosemary Prentice

9/23/2023 03:24:47 pm

Thank you for this.

Been studying Bach for SO many years and have been an organ scholar. I am now in my 80s and have only just found out what BWV literally stands for (although had a vague understanding)!

You can never know too much can you! Always love his
music.

Best wishes.
Rosemary

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2/26/2026 08:14:25 am

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Monty link

6/27/2024 07:09:52 pm

Thanks forr this

Sasha Sound

7/19/2026 02:33:03 pm

Thank you for this, Lisa! It’s always a joy - to come back to Bach and learn some more magic of mastery from his inexhaustible legacy.

We are now curious to discover more info about numbering system, applied to Bach’s catalog. For example, how did Schmieder decide on the themes of each piece based on the opening notes. Is there a code that he used in his research?

P.s.
It’s so beautiful to find a post from a familiar person 💜 while searching for certain musical topic online.

Just what exactly does BWV mean?

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