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I'm sure there are lots of interesting things to mention here - dedications to secret/unknown beloved ones, to historically important figures, mysterious dedications, witty dedications, silly dedications, many works dedicated to a single person, etc. Any ideas? Let's have some fun!

Here are a few random ones to start with:


sdg (soli deo gloria) - Bach on many of his works (here from the end of WTC 1)

"dédiées à son ami F. Liszt" - "dédiées à Madame la Comtesse d'Agoult"
In this way Chopin gives a direct (op. 10) and indirect (op. 25) hommage to the greatest pianist of all time with (some of) the most wonderful sets of etudes of all time.

"These prefatory essays were written by the composer for those who can't stand his music--and the music for those who can't stand his essays; to those who can't stand either, the whole is respectfully dedicated."
Charles Ives: Essays before a sonata

Beethoven dedicated the Eroica symphony to Napoleon because he admired the ideas of the French Revolution, but when he heard that Napoleon had been proclaimed emperor he was in rage (quoted from Wiki):

The Bach almost looks like it might read "P.D.Q."....

Hehe, maybe that's how it all started

One of my favorite dedications is Wilhelm Kempff's for his transcription of the Siciliano from Bach's Flute Sonata No. 2:

"To Albert Schweitzer"

Mahler dedicated his Eighth Symphony to his wife Alma, partially in thanks for her not leaving him for Walter Gropius.

Of course, that didn't stop Alma from clandestinely sleeping with Gropius while Mahler was rehearsing the symphony for its premier.

All rather amusing.

Probably well known but Liszt dedicated his Etudes(not sure if Paganini or Transcendental) to Clara Schumann and his Op. 15 Fantasy to Robert Schumann. What Liszt didn't know was that he made both of those dedications near the end of the first volume of Walker's biography.