Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Adult Beginners Forum Elise was not an unshaved girl!

Ah yes - how refreshing that the snobbish elite are always so dependable in their offended reactions and can always be counted on to take advantage of every opportunity to sniff indignantly, scoff sarcastically and generally look down their long, upturned noses at the mere mention of this "trite, overplayed and overrated populist piece of hackneyed music".


JF

if you hit alt+numbers you get all the different symboles you need:

é: 131
ù: 151
ö: 148
etc, etc... (the above with the alt pressed down and then releasing).

FùÖ¥Ær Elise!

While Beethoven's penmanship, did, leave much to be desired, there's no evidence supporting this theory at all. It's long been thought that Therese Malfatti (to whom Beethoven proposed), was the intended dedicatee, but no one really knows for certain, and the manuscript itself has long been lost (all that now exists is a sketch fragment). There is a theory that Elise, was, Elisabeth Roeckel (soprano and wife of Hummel). At the christening of Roeckel's first child, her name is given as, "Maria Eva Elise". It's known that she and Beethoven had a close relationship at least at one time. The Beethoven-Haus, apparently, will be publishing an article this year expounding on the theory. While it will probably never be known for certain, who, exactly Elise, was, one thing is for sure...Beethoven, would be an incredibly wealthy man, if he were alive today and drawing royalties off his bagatelle.

Is this Elise?

Not only WAS there an Elise, student of Beethoven, but there were TWO ELise's who were his students. They were cousins - and because their parents were both twins, they were 'identical cousins' and Beethoven had the darndest time telling them apart. At first he had them wear color-coded dirndles, but they got a kick out of mixing them up - and mixing Beethoven up but the Maestro could usually tell them apart once they started playing.

Now it was an especially cold and snowy winter in Vienna that year (which year?) and the girls had to bundle up to keep their hands warm on their way over to Beethoven's place. If their fingers froze and became stiff they knew they were in for it from Ludwig who would scold them mercilessly on their slovenly playing. One of the Elise cousins took to wearing a fur muff on her hands, and the other would carry steins of hot chocolate to her lesson - both to try and keep their hands warm. The short piece which Beethoven wrote for the 'fur' Elise - by which he could tell from the difficult runs in the middle who she was - has survived. THe other short piece "Schokolade Elisa' has sadly perished in the mists of time.

A darker note is suggested when Viennese driving records show that Fur Elise made Chocolate Elise pay the fine when she got caught on a DUI citation.

With a Mac an umlaut is option-u, then type the letter you want the umlaut on (u,a,o) ü ä ö

Not only WAS there an Elise, student of Beethoven, but there were TWO ELise's who were his students.

if you hit alt+numbers you get all the different symboles you need:

é: 131
ù: 151
ö: 148
etc, etc... (the above with the alt pressed down and then releasing).

FùÖ¥Ær Elise!

Wow, how about that. Nikolas, would you know where to gind a listing of these all of these sorts of symbols?