After the publication of his Bagatelles op. 33 in 1803, Beethoven returned to this genre again only twenty years later. The stimulus came from outside, twice: on the one hand, he received a request in 1820 to supply pieces for a piano method; on the other hand, in 1822 the Peters publishing house asked for "solo pieces for piano," whereupon Beethoven offered "bagatelles or trifles". These two groups of Bagatelles (nos. 1-6 as revisions of older pieces for Peters and nos. 7-11 for the piano method) were ultimately published in London in 1823 in the order known today - whether this was done with Beethoven's consent remains a matter of debate to this day. In any case, they enjoy great popularity among amateurs and professionals alike owing to their variety of characters and their moderate level of difficulty.
Within the scope of a revision of all of Beethoven's Bagatelles, Henle Publishers took the opportunity to offer opus 119 for the first time as a single Urtext edition. The music and detailed texts reflect the current state of research. Editor Joanna Cobb-Biermann took advantage of a significantly expanded range of sources.