Beethoven and Me

     When I was a little girl I thought that Ludwig van Beethoven wrote For Elise for me. I was the muse for a great composer even though we had been born centuries and cultures apart. This month is Beethoven Awareness Month and while listening to WQXR--our public, classical music station--I learned that he wrote it for a woman named Therese (one of the many he is thought to have loved.) There was a mistake in the transcription of the title and Therese's loss became my childhood fantasy.
     The composition is the only one that I know of that bears my name. Alice has her "Sweet Little Alice Blue Gown." There is a song for Carol and one for Dinah. Evelina has been around for awhile. Georgia was on someone's mind and Ida remains "Sweet as apple cider." Jeannie is famous for her light brown hair and the First World War made Katie famous. There's also Kiss Me Kate and every breeze whispers Louise and Astaire loved Louisa. Then there is Laura. Mary remains a "grand, old name," and what about Marie (from sunny Italy?) Sinatra sang about Nancy and Rosemarie had Nelson Eddy singing about her. Guess I'll keep Beetoven as my composer.

Bests,

Elise