Fur Elise

[Michael]

And BTW the physician Dr. Johann Malfatti for whom Beethoven wrote the cantata "Lieto brindisi" was not Therese's father, but her father's cousin. Therese's father was the merchant Jacob Friedrich Malfatti von Rohrenbach zu Dezza.

I stand corrected. I was writing from memory.

[Michael]

Getting back to "Fur Elise", I just came across this snippet in Classic FM magazine. I don't know if it's true or absolute rubbish:

Did You Know?
If you use German note names where E flat is written Es (and pronounced "S" as in English), the name "Elise" is revealed in the first few notes of the piece.

[Chris]

Getting back to "Fur Elise", I just came across this snippet in Classic FM magazine. I don't know if it's true or absolute rubbish:

Did You Know?
If you use German note names where E flat is written Es (and pronounced "S" as in English), the name "Elise" is revealed in the first few notes of the piece.

Well, the first notes of the piece are:

E D# E D# E B D C A

So, first of all, there aren't even any E flats. You could say the D#s are Ebs, I guess. Then it would be (in the German way of writing it):

E Es E Es E H D C A

So...still no. It's kind of a problem that there aren't any Ls or Is in musical notation, but maybe I'm being too literal. If you take the first three notes:

E Es E

And then pronounce them as if they were a word you...kind of...get something that sounds a little like Elise.

But that's really a stretch.

[Hofrat]

If Beethoven intended the title to be "Fur Therese," why are we are we looking for clues in the name "Elise?"

[Michael]

If Beethoven intended the title to be "Fur Therese," why are we are we looking for clues in the name "Elise?"

I was just posting a snippet from a magazine which wasn't intended as a thesis. Whatever gets unearthed, this little piano piece will always be known as "Fur Elise". I'm still amazed that the animal rights people haven't raised any objections to the title.

[Cetto von Cronstorff]

FYI

http://members.aon.at/michaelorenz/elise/