Piano World Home Page Forums Fun Stuff! - Parties, Tours, Projects & More... Just For The Fun of It fur elise: love/hate?

I have to like it because it's Beethoven, but I would not worry if I never heard the piece again in my life.
I'm afraid it has come, along with other pieces, to represent "classical" music to the masses, maybe because of it's apparent (?) simplicity and perhaps the mere fact that it has a title. Would it be as popular I wonder if it were known as Bagatelle in A minor?
Just to go off on a slight tangent, there are 2 Mozart works which I find I can no longer listen to with any degree of pleasure; Piano Concerto 21, which now seems destined to be referred to until the end of time as "The Elvira Madigan " concerto and there are people out there who firmly believe that the title was given by the composer!!
Eine kleine etc. is the other work, thanks to the universal mis-translation of the title. "Kleine" means small and "nachtmusik" is the German word for serenade, therefore, "A Small Serenade". I'm afraid that "A little night music only serves to remind me of the pretentious Sondheim and his overblown "tunes".
Rant over!!!!!!!!

Ha ha, I was going to say hate, but that youtube video totally made me grin.

When played by a virtuoso it's beautiful, but being thumped out by every tom dick and harry it makes me wanna pull my hair out.

Love the vid though, that's tops!

Hate it. Never want to hear it again. Any TV show or movie that has a kid performing at a recital, it's almost always the piece they have the kid playing. Make it go away.

I am a digital piano salesperson, and I have to say Fur Elise is the most common piece played by customers in the store where I work. At first, I liked it, but now I am developing a nervous tic when I hear the opening strains of the thing! If anyone could play the whole thing, it would be less annoying. But most people play the first phrase OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER again...well, you get the idea. I never knew how many ways you can play that melody wrong!!! pLEASE HELP ME!!

never learned it. i don't think i ever will. my teachers (past and recent) never assigned me the piece. i also think it's overplayed. but i have sight read it.

Love it, I think it's great! Some pieces just never get boring!

I agree with TheBritishPianist. It's gorgeous & melodic...

How can a classical piece be overplayed? Not like it plays on the radio or that you hear it being blasted by cars passing by.

It's overplayed because it's so good (but also very easy).

I see that that poem goes along with the piece. Read it whilst humming the tune in your head or listening to it.

Well I remember learning Fur Elise when I was 10, I have to say I did enjoy learning the piece, it is a brilliant simple piece sampling the genius of Beethoven, but as the years passed I began to dislike it and stopped playing it after hearing it from other people so many times. Now I cringe whenever I hear it being played hehe :p

Fur Elise WAS my favorite piece to play as a child. But having taught piano for over 20 years I've heard it murdered so many times by beginning students that I've grown to despise it. (Sorry Beethoven.)

what a tedious melody

I like it but my piano teacher has the same opinion as miss sharon.

It is a littlt bit too "rock" for me. I know a good one. It is more classical and romantic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQ7y0f5gfzo

Absoballylutley love that song!!


Is my siggy too long?

I hate it because almost everyone loves to play it, and as a teacher I do get sick of hearing, when it is played badly—which is usually the case.

I love it because *if* I can teach someone to play it, that "someone" is usually very pleased.

I hate it because "everyone plays" it.

But I love the fact that now and then someone who is famous will take a chance and peform it, for instance Pogorelich:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQTTFUtMSvQ

I don't agree that it's easy either. It's easy to play it, but not play it well. Section B and C take considerable finesse. It's quite difficult to play, in public, because anyone who plays well is ready to laugh at you if you can't pull it off.

I have to agree with everyone saying how much I am starting to despise it, but it is just one of those pieces when I am having a rough time practicing something it just comes out of me all of a sudden I am doing the 2nd part of it trying to over exaggerate it on purpose.

I play it horribly wrong on purpose, sometimes I do it for the kids and do all kids of funky things with it that make them laugh since everyone knows how it goes it makes it comical.

However, because I know how much all the kids want to learn it, I grit my teeth and bear it...

I have learnt Fur Elise. It's a great piece, a little overplayed nonetheless.

I think that too much of a good thing isn't a good thing. Learned it in the early 50's and loved it but after all this time and listening to inexperienced players it has all the charm of a second week violin students mistakes.

Or, as the eminent contemporary philosopher John Mayer puts it, "twice as much ain't twice as good..."

I've never worked on the piece because it was just never assigned by any of my teachers. I love Beethoven, but Fur Elise is pretty far down the list of his works I would take up by choice.

Oddly, I have no feelings either way.
I can play it but I don't love it, I don't hate it. Is that weird?