While opinions vary as to whether or not knowing what op. stands for in a piece of music is actually useful, it undoubtedly provides a type of ‘credibility’ towards your audience if you happen to be one of those individuals who understands the use of the abbreviations.
What Does Op. Stand for in Music?
Op. is a shortened form of the German word “Opus” meaning at work, “opus” being Latin for “work”. So, an opus number is a sort of serial identifier assigned to a published piece or a composition which you might have composed yourself. It’s usually represented by the abbreviation ‘op.’
Typically, this would be included in the front matter of a piece along with the title and other information including details such as key, time signature, type, genre etc.
What Do Opus Numbers Mean?
The most important thing to remember is that op. numbers give an idea about when a musical work was published or composed and not when it was written down for the first time. The order with which opus numbers were assigned has nothing to do with the order in which they were written.
While there are no hard and fast rules as such with regard to how many opus numbers a composer may have, most composers end up having only one or two, with most only ever achieving one.
For example, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart had an opus number of 1 in 1756 when he was only five years old. This was when his first symphony (K16) was published. Subsequently, he wrote the famous opera “The Marriage of Figaro” in 1786 but since it wasn’t published during his lifetime, it wasn’t given an opus number.
What are some examples of how music can be designated with an Op.?
There are quite a few examples of opus numbers in classical music. However, not all composers followed this convention. There are some well known examples such as:
- Johann Sebastian Bach: ‘The Well Tempered Clavier’ (the 48 Preludes and Fugues) is often referred to by its BWV number (Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis) rather than its opus number which is 1.
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: His nine symphonies are numbered from 35 to 41, though he wrote several more that weren’t published in his lifetime and therefore don’t have a number. His opera “Don Giovanni” was given the number on 26 October 1787, a year after his death.
- Ludwig van Beethoven: His five ‘early’ piano sonatas were published as opus 49 in 1801/2 and then numbered from 1 to 5 from 1807 onwards after most of them had been written.
How did this tradition of using Op. originate?
This tradition of designating opus numbers originated in the 18th century with composers such as Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven.
Up until that time, music was generally published without the composer’s name. For instance, Bach’s first published work (the six trio sonatas of opus 3) has no identifying information other than the publisher’s imprint on the title page.
Around 1770, publishers like Breitkopf began to include composers’ names on their publications. The first works to be so designated were the Six Keyboard Sonatas, Opus 1 by Muzio Clementi.
Clementi was one of the first composers to consistently assign opus numbers for his compositions, beginning with these keyboard sonatas (he assigned opus numbers through Op. 25). Mozart assigned his own opus numbers (beginning with the Piano Sonatas, K. 279-284), and Beethoven assigned opus numbers to some of his early works that had been published without them.
The tradition quickly spread, and most composers after Haydn assigned their own opus numbers. The only exceptions were Mozart’s sister-in-law Josepha Hofer, Beethoven’s early mentor Count Ferdinand von Waldstein, and some of Chopin’s early works.
Conclusion
Op. is a designation which you will see quite often when studying from musical works from the last couple of centuries. It stands for Opus number and it’s used as a way to distinguish between different pieces of work by the same composer.
Many people believe that the order with which opus numbers were assigned has nothing to do with the order in which they were written. However it’s important to remember that opus numbers give an idea about when a musical work was published or composed and not when it was written down for the first time.
