What Is Für Elise?
Für Elise is a well-known and easily recognizable piano piece. Beethoven composed it in 1810 when he was mostly deaf, but it was not published until 1867, 40 years after his death. This piece is a Bagatelle, or a “short, unpretentious instrumental composition.”
It is unclear to whom Beethoven wrote Für Elise. Some believe that he dedicated it to Elisabeth Röckel or Elise Barensfeld. Others, however, believe that the transcriber misread Beethoven’s handwriting.
In 1810, he proposed to Therese Malfatti, and he may have written this piano piece for her.