Hyperion Records

Ludwig van Beethoven’s Für Elise dates from 1808 or 1810 and is a small chip indeed from the workshop that in the latter year produced, for example, the opus 95 string quartet. It is a popular and appealing piece, however, first published as late as 1867. The manuscript is lost, but it may have been inscribed ‘Für Therese’, signifying Therese Malfatti to whom Beethoven seems to have proposed (unsuccessfully) in 1810.

from notes by Max Harrison © 1986