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Home > 50 Relaxing Classics > Bagatelle in A Minor, WoO 59, "Für Elise"
Classical Composer: Beethoven, Ludwig van
Work: Bagatelle in A Minor, WoO 59, "Für Elise"
Year Composed: 1810
Instrumentation:  pf
Publishers: Breitkopf & Härtel
Universal Edition
G. Henle Verlag
Duration: 00:03:00
Period:  Classical (1750-1830)
Work Category:  Instrumental

Work Information

Available Recording(s)

If you've ever been near a piano in a public space then you are likely to have heard Für Elise, or at least its first few bars. This is one of many short piano pieces Beethoven wrote throughout his life, and it is thought that this Bagatelle in A minor was composed for Thérèse Malfatti, whom Beethoven had hoped to marry. Thérèse gave him no encouragement and the match was strongly opposed by her parents, so this little piece from 1810, the year of Beethoven's rejection as a suitor, is a poignant reminder of the great composer's misfortunes in love.

Writer: Dominy Clements

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