Beethovenâs Für Elise doesnât deserve your eye rolls
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By Joshua Barone
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Für Elise, you know
Für Elise.
A bagatelle the length of a pop song, Beethovenâs trifle is recognisable from the start: a wobble between E and D sharp that gives way to a tune youâve heard virtually everywhere. Ringing from cellphones and childrenâs toys; sampled in rap and featured on Baby Einstein albums; as likely to appear in a serious drama as in a Peanuts cartoon,
Beethovenâs âFür Eliseâ Doesnât Deserve Your Eye Rolls
It is overplayed all over pop culture. But the pianist Igor Levit says it is âone of the most beautiful pieces I know.â
Credit.Eleanor Davis
Even if you donât know âFür Elise,â you know âFür Elise.â
A bagatelle the length of a pop song, Beethovenâs trifle is recognizable from the start: a wobble between E and D sharp that gives way to a tune youâve heard virtually everywhere. Ringing from cellphones and childrenâs toys; sampled in rap and featured on Baby Einstein albums; as likely to appear in a serious drama as in a Peanuts cartoon, âFür Eliseâ is shorthand for classical music itself. In âBill & Tedâs Excellent Adventure,â itâs used to identify Beethoven without even saying his name.
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