Piano: Für Elise - Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827)

Für Elise

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"Für Elise" (German for "For Elise") is the popular name of the "Bagatelle in A minor", WoO 59, a piece of music for solo piano by Ludwig van Beethoven, written approximately in 1810.

Beethoven scholars and critics are not entirely certain who "Elise" was. The most reasonable theory is that Beethoven originally titled his work "Für Therese", Therese being Therese Malfatti von Rohrenbach zu Dezza (1792-1851), whom Beethoven intended to marry in 1810. However, she declined Beethoven's proposal. In 1816 Therese Malfatti, who was the daughter of the Viennese merchant Jacob Malfatti von Rohrenbach (1769-1829), married the Austrian nobleman and state official Wilhelm von Droßdik (1771-1859). When the work was published in 1865, the discoverer of the piece Ludwig Nohl mistranscribed the title as "Für Elise". The autograph is lost.^{[citation needed]}

The music

The piece begins in 3/8 with a right-hand theme accompanied by arpeggios in the left hand; the harmonies used are A minor and E major. The next section maintains the same texture, but broadens the harmony to include C major, which is it its relative major, and G major, C major's dominant key. A faster section follows, written in the key of F major, then a few bars in C major. The first section returns without alteration; next, the piece moves into an agitated theme set over a pedal point on A. After a gauntlet of arpeggios, the main theme returns, and the piece quietly ends in its starting key of A minor, with an Authentic Cadence.

[YuGong]

Some fun facts about Fur Elise :

Who is Elise? Nobody knows for sure. Theory 1 is that Beethoven's song is supposed to call 'Fur Therese', Therese Von Malfatti being a daughter of a Doctor from Vienna. Beethoven wanted to marry Therese, unfortunately she didn't want to marry Beethoven. Fur Elise was published after Beethoven's dead and it is possible that someone misread his handwriting. Theory 2 is that Elise was one of his piano students, Beethoven is known to fall for his piano students. He used to give his female students songs that were too difficult for them to play, so that they had to come back for more piano lessons. Naughty naughty! Theory 3 is that Elise is Elisabeth de Robiano, since 1799 married to Charles Pierre le Candèle de Gyseghem. Fur Elise was written in 1808, so that makes him again a naughty boy!
A jazzed up version of Fur Elise was played in the Benny Hill Show.
Fur Elise is a trucker's tune. In Taiwan and Iran the song is played by garbage trucks to tell people it's time to get out the trash. In Brazil it is used by trucks selling gas cilinders and throughout the world Fur Elise is used in ice cream vans.

Source: http://www.guitarchordsmagic.com/guitar-song-chords/fur-elise.html