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| Ludwig van Beethoven |
Ludwig van Beethoven lived during 1770-1827. Beethoven is considered one of the greatest composers of all time. As a young boy, he was admired by Mozart and Haydn. His amazing technical skills and great compositions gave him support from the Viennese aristocracy, even though he was not very famous and his behavior was boorish (not well mannered). In 1801, he became partially deaf and in 1817, he was completely deaf. That didn't stop him from creating beautiful music. In 1817, he composed one of his most famous pieces, the ninth symphony.
Beethoven wrote Für Elise when he was partially deaf around 1810. No one knows who Beethoven meant to write Für Elise which means For Elise. A researcher named Ludwig Nohl said that he saw a dedication Für Elise written on the original music that is now missing. Beethoven was in love with a woman named Therese Malfatti around the time he created Für Elise. The researcher Ludwig Nohl might have misread the composer's poor handwriting which then would have said Für Therese. Another researcher named Klaus Martin Kopitz said Elise may have been the nickname of a famous opera singer Elisabeth Röckel, another women that Beethoven fell in love with. Für Elise was published in 1865, well after Beethoven's death in 1827.
Für Elise is one of my favorite pieces. I will now be playing Beethoven's Für Elise.
Who do you think Für Elise was dedicated to?
Did you like the music?
Dear Miriam,
ReplyDeletethank you for your wonderful musical post.
I really loved hearing you planning this beautiful piece of music.
You really are a beautiful piano player.
Also I enjoyed reading your wonderful facts about Beethoven and to think wrote this beautiful piece of music when he was partially deaf. Now thats what I call truly amazing.
Once again a beautiful Miriam.
From your pal,
AA.
Hi Miriam,
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this piece. This is my favourite.
I can see the confidence you displayed in both posts. You are really a talent!
Sophia
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ReplyDeleteDear Miriam,
What a pleasure to get to hear you play the piano! I loved it so much...I listened to it twice!
I used to take piano lessons, and even learned to play Beethoven's Für Elise, but I never got to the level that you have achieved. However, I sometimes sit down and play what I can of the piece. Maybe I'll set a goal to try and learn it like you! :-)
The piano is a beautiful instrument. To me, it is like an old friend that you can sit and enjoy from time to time.
Another style of music I enjoy playing is called *Ragtime* music. Scott Joplin made this American genre popular. You might remember that Mr. B. played some Joplin music for us. I'm working on his song called Solace. It's nice to learn about different styles of music, no?
How long did it take you to learn this piece?
What are you working on currently?
Your former teacher,
Mrs. Y♥llis
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Dear Miriam,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed listening and viewing your piano performance! Fur Elise is such a beautiful piece of music! It is one of my favorite classical works.
I took piano lessons when I was young, but I never had the talent you have. I wasn't very good at practicing either! Now all I can play is Chopsticks!
How much do you practice each day? How young were you when you began playing?
Enjoying your music from Seattle,
Mrs. Hembree
Dear Miriam,
ReplyDeleteI so enjoyed your post- both the information about Beethoven and the lovely music! It brought back memories of when I learned to play it at your age! It is a beautiful composition, isn't it? You played it beautifully, too! I don't know if we'll ever have an answer to your question about who Elise was!
I teach students (age 7-11) in San Antonio, Texas and one of them just did a report on Bach because she loves music. I know she will enjoy seeing this post. I will send it to her!
I'm curious. How long have you been studying piano?
Sincerely,
Mrs. Donna Lasher
Aloha Miriam,
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful piece and played so well. Your skills as a pianist are really developing. How long have you been playing?
Beethoven is my favortie composers and I am still amazed that he could create such wonderful music without being able to hear anyone perform it.
I believe this particular piece was composed for someone he truly loved. I am a romantic at heart and I have a special feeling when I listen to it.
My favorite piece is the third movement of the Ninth Symphony. Words cannot really express how much it means to me.
Mahalo nui loa my friend!
Mrs. Jacobs
Dear Miriam,
ReplyDeleteThat was incredible! My daughter sat with me to watch you, and now she wants to play the piano. I was explaining to her that you must practice a lot in order to be that great at it. How long have you been playing the piano, and how often do you practice?
Kind regards,
Mrs. Watanabe
Dear Miriam,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your post on Beethoven; your love of and passion for music comes across both in your writing and playing, the latter being truly a pleasure to behold.
I hope you will be offering more posts like this in the future as I would very much like to hear you play some more.
Mr Kilgour
Assistant Headteacher
Darrick Wood Junior School
Orpington, England
Miriam,
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful post! I really enjoyed hearing you play the piano. My son, who is 24, used to love to play that piece when he was just a bit older than you!
Keep up the wonderful writing. I will be back to visit your blog again soon! Mrs. Yollis is a Twitter friend of mine :-)
Mrs. Young ( 4th grade teacher in Menlo Park, CA)
Dear Mrs. Yollis,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment. It took me a couple of months to learn Fur Elise. I am currently learning Clair De Lune by Debbussy and Sonata 16 by Mozart. Clair De Lune is a very difficult song so during the summer I practiced 4 hours a day. I will have a piano competition in November and I will be playing both of those songs. Have you heard of any of these songs?
Solace is a beautiful song. Good luck learning it!
From,
Miriam
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@AA,
ReplyDeleteThank you for leaving me a comment and thank you for the compliment. I wonder how he was able to write music without hearing anything. He probably was able to feel the music.
From,
Miriam
Dear Sophia,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment and your compliment. I am so happy that you are my mentor for student blogging challenge.
From,
Miriam
Dear Mrs. Hembree,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your compliments and your comment. My little brother and sister also can play chopsticks.
I practice everyday during the week for 1 hour and on the weekends I practice for 2 hours. In the summer I practiced everyday for 4 hours because I was preparing for a piano competition. I started playing 3 years ago when I was 6.
From,
Miriam
Dear Mrs. Lasher,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment and your compliment. I have been playing piano for 3 years.
I also did a post on Bach. In the video my sister and I played some Back pieces we learned Here is the link: http://victoria-miriamsmoments.blogspot.com/2011/07/johann-sebastian-bach.html
From,
Miriam
Dear Mrs. Jacobs,
ReplyDeleteThank you for leaving me a comment and thank you for the compliment. I have been playing for 3 years. The third movement of Beethoven ninth symphony is beautiful but my favorite is his 5th symphony. Once we went to a listen to a symphony orchestra and they played the 5th symphony. We were singing the melody the whole way home.
From,
Miriam
Dear Mr. Young,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment and thank you for your compliments. Does your son still play the piano? I hope you visit again soon.
From,
Miriam
Dear Mr. Kilgour,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment and compliments. I have done some other music posts that you might like. There is one on Bach and Clementi. I will also do some more as I learn new pieces.
From,
Miriam
Dear Mrs. Wantanabe,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your nice comment. I have been playing piano for 3 years. In the summer I practice during the week for 4 hours. When school started, I didn't have as much time. So now I practice for 1 hour during school days and 2 hours on the weekends.
From,
Miriam
Dear Miriam,
ReplyDeleteGreat job playing the piano. I love your post on Beethoven and I learned many facts about him. I also play a different piece by Beethoven and a piece by Chopin. Who is your favorite composer. I like many composers.
From your sister,
Sarah
Dear Miriam,
ReplyDeleteI really like your post and you are very good at the piano.
I bet it will take 2 years to be an expert like you.
I just got a piano but I am not as good as you.
I can not believe that Fur Elise was deaf but he still was a composer.
Thank you for teaching us a lot about Fur Elise.
Can you post some more awsome posts like all of yours?
Sincerly,
Parsa [Mrs. Yollis' class]
Dear Parsa,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment! I will be posting many more posts and some of them are going to be music posts.
Actually, Elise wasn't deaf but Beethoven was deaf and he wrote a song dedicated to Elise. I hope you will stop by again. I think you will really enjoy playing on your new piano.
From,
♕♔Miriam♕♔
Dear Miriam,
ReplyDeleteOur class enjoyed the facts you shared about Beethoven. We loved listening to you play Für Elise.
You are very good at piano and very fast. We couldn't believe how fast you were and how well you played without sheet music. How long have you been playing piano?
From,
Ms. Allen's 2nd Grade Computer Class
Dear Miriam,
ReplyDeleteI love Beethoven! And I love your post!
I am including a link to your blog in my 'blog tour' so my students and others will be dropping by to visit. Not only is this post a great model for other student bloggers, the comments you received and your responses are also a great example for others.
Thanks for sharing your talents on your blog!
Sincerely,
Ms. Tatiana
www.worldstaracademy.com