Elise Barensfeld

Elise Barensfeld (born Juliane Katharine Elisabet Barensfeld; 27 August 1796 – after 1820), was a German soprano. She toured from age 12 with Johann Nepomuk Mälzel, a friend of Ludwig van Beethoven, and lived in Mälzel's household in Vienna until age 17. In 2012, Rita Steblin claimed that Beethoven may have dedicated his piano piece Für Elise to her.

Career Born Juliane Katharine Elisabet Barensfeld in Regensburg, Holy Roman Empire, and often called Elise, she was known as a child prodigy. She toured at age 12 with Regensburg mechanic Johann Nepomuk Mälzel, who invented the metronome and was a friend of Ludwig van Beethoven.