midicnGlossary 中文

Op. posth. Posthumous Opus

The label for works published after a composer's death, numbered by publishers rather than by the composer

OpusWoO

Op. posth. stands for opus posthumum, a work published after the composer's death. The number is assigned by the publisher, not by the composer, so it follows neither the composer's wishes nor the order of composition.

Chopin's last opus was Op. 65. His friend Julian Fontana gathered the remaining manuscripts and issued them as Op. 66–74 from 1855, although Chopin had asked that unpublished papers be destroyed. Op. 66, the Fantaisie-Impromptu, was written around 1834; the seventeen songs of Op. 74 were written between 1829 and 1847. One posthumous series therefore runs backwards and forwards in time.

A work may also carry a later catalogue number, such as Kobylańska's KK or the Polish National Edition's WN. Op. posth. records when a work was printed, not when it was made or how good it is.

Sources

  • Op. posth. 的出版性质与肖邦遗作号，参 The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, "Opus" 与 "Chopin, Fryderyk Franciszek"；本文为原创表述

Used for fact-checking only; all prose is original.