On the Flip with Beethoven's Für Elise
The Best Moments
Bagatelle No. 25 in A minor, WoO 59 ("Für Elise")
I'm Beethoven, and what you're about to hear are the best moments of Für Elise. You'll hear the gentle, rocking opening tune in A minor, and how it keeps coming back after each contrasting section like an old friend at the door. My fellow composers and I also teach you, here on this site, to recognize our pieces the moment they begin, so give the Trainer a go and see how quickly you can name them.
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Knocking Politely at the Door
I begin by rocking between two neighboring notes in A minor, as if I can't decide whether to knock or just walk in. The little tune sways along in 3/8 time, calm and a bit wistful, and it's so easy to remember that people who have never touched a piano can still pick it out.
The Sun Comes Out for a Moment
In the middle I leave the shadowy mood behind and start the next section in F major, which sounds like someone opening the curtains and letting in the daylight. From there the music moves to C major and grows a little more confident, though it never stays away from home for very long.
The First Tune Gets the Last Word
I bring the opening tune back one last time, because the piece is a five-part rondo, and in a rondo the main melody keeps returning to the room. I never saw it in print, since it was only published in 1867, and the story goes that nobody can say for certain who Elise was.
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So that's my little bagatelle, from the first hesitant knock to the way the opening tune comes back one last time. Did you enjoy learning about the best moments of Für Elise? I hope the piece now sounds a little different to you, even if you've heard it a hundred times before. What still moves me is how far this small piece traveled without me. I never saw it in print, because it only appeared in 1867, long after my death. The title came from the scholar Ludwig Nohl, who said he had seen the manuscript, and since that manuscript has been lost, nobody can check what it really said. Who Elise was is still an open question, and I find I don't mind leaving it that way. Some people think Nohl misread the name Therese, and others have proposed different women entirely, but the story goes no further than guesses. The music doesn't need the answer to do its work. There is a lot more to explore in Für Elise than I could fit here. You could look at how the five-part rondo is built, or at the sketches that survive in Bonn. You could also read about the people who have been proposed as the mysterious Elise, and decide for yourself which story you find most convincing. If you'd like to keep going, please click on the links provided and follow whichever one catches your curiosity. And when you next sit down at a piano, or simply hum that opening tune, I hope you'll hear a little more in it than before.