Für Elise

June 11, 2026

Why did Ludwig write this awful piece?
It wasn’t free,
That was for süre.

The money (all in cash) came from Elise.
Thus it was she
He wrote it für.

—Josefa Heifetz (Jascha Heifetz’s daughter)

But, Ms. Heifetz, just because countless intermediate piano students have played Für Elise poorly, does that really mean it’s a bad piece of music? And just because it has become a world-wide ringtone, and Taiwanese garbage trucks honk their horns to its first nine notes, should I instinctively turn up my nose at this oh-so-popular creation?

The gently flowing notes in a minor key that begin Für Elise do so with a touch of melancholy. Then the music bursts exuberantly into a major key before returning to the opening in minor. Ominous repeated notes bring us momentarily to a darker place before spilling into a cadenza-like arpeggio. Then for the last time Für Elise returns to its melancholy beginning and ends in utmost simplicity. Playing time is a mere three minutes.

I imagine that the great musician pianists of our time who grapple with such monumental works as the late Schubert and Beethoven sonatas might regard Für Elise as a trifle not worth their consideration. And yet Beethoven himself must have liked the work enough to dedicate it to someone he admired and perhaps loved. 

Für Elise is officially listed as “Bagatelle #25 in a minor,” and some musicologists believe that Beethoven intended it to be grouped with several other bagatelles that were planned but never written. A pity. Für Elise would have gained stature by joining the ranks of the three sets of bagatelles that Beethoven wrote during his lifetime.

But to whom did Beethoven actually dedicate Für Elise? Researchers have suggested as possibilities Therese Malfatti, Elisabeth Röckel, and Elise Barensfeld, all close friends and important people in his life. Would any of them still want to be associated with one of Beethoven’s most popular works, ironically also the most maligned and made fun of?

I feel just a tiny bit sorry for Für Elise, such a modest yet pleasing miniature. And for that reason Ms. Heifetz, please do not be offended if I somewhat amend your poem:

Why did Ludwig write this sweet rondeau?
To please a girl,
That is für süre.

Was it Elise? We shall never know.
No matter who,
He wrote it für.