Although Pachelbel’s Canon, “Eine kleine Nachtmusik,” and the “Ode to Joy” provide stiff competition, Beethoven’s “Für Elise” is probably the most numbingly familiar of classical melodies. Myriad ...

Editor’s Note: This article previously appeared in a different format as part of The Atlantic’s Notes section, retired in 2021. You don’t have to be a classical musical snob to recognize this track—it ...

Für Elise has become one of the most widely recognizable classical pieces in the world. It has appeared in commercials, movies, and even garbage trucks in Taiwan. So how did it get so popular, and is ...

Bruce Adolphe's inspiration for this week's Puzzler was not just the style of a particular composer, but an actual piece. Ruth Laredo plays the famous "Fur Elise," by Beethoven.