FC2Video

Fur Elise (For Elise) is the popular name of the Bagatelle in A minor, a very famous piece of music by Ludwig van Beethoven, written in about 1810. The piece begins with a plaintive right-hand theme accompanied by arpeggios in the left hand; the harmonies used are A minor and E major. The next section maintains the same texture, but broadens the harmony to include C major its dominant, G major. A faster section follows, written in the key of F major. This section is the bane of many pianists who easily play the opening, but then are forced to either skip the section or spend a lot of time developing the required coordination. (There is an apocryphal story that Beethoven wrote this part after an argument with Elise, knowing that she would not be able to play it.) The first section returns without alteration; next, the piece moves into D minor with an ominous theme set over a pedal point. Demo play on Yamaha U1 Piano