Who was Beethoven’s mysterious Elise? Historian concludes she never existed

The identity of the muse for Für Elise has long puzzled experts. A new book suggests it was named by someone else, after the composer’s death

It is one of classical music’s most famous compositions and also one of its most intriguing mysteries. Ludwig van Beethoven’s enchanting Für Elise has been played by generations of children learning the piano but musicologists have struggled in vain to find the “Elise” who inspired it.

Now a leading Beethoven expert has come to the conclusion that there never was an Elise – or at least not one that Beethoven knew.