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