Bagatelle for piano (A minor) WoO 59

According to his friend Wegeler, Beethoven was in love throughout his adolescence. This might be a friendly exaggeration or a comment on his immaturity, but the fact is that women were strongly attracted to the composer and vice versa. Still, there are no records of a female acquaintance named 'Elise'.

The title 'For Elise' is attributed to the 19th-century Beethoven scholar Ludwig Nohl, who claimed to have seen the autograph. It was Nohl who published the piece and called it 'For Elise'. Since then the manuscript has been missing, so the title cannot be verified. But in fact, when Beethoven wrote the piece in 1810 he was in love with Therese Malfatti, whom he intended to marry (she turned him down). She was the owner of the manuscript. (J.R.)