Reckonizing the key a tune is played in

[YammyFan]

On a quiz on TV last night they played a few bars of Beethoven's Fur Elise and asked the panel guests to say what key it was played in. I have loved this tune since I was a kid. But I have no idea what key they played it in last night. I wonder how many of our members would have been able to guess correctly. Maybe it is necessary to have perfect pitch to do that; but not many people have perfect pitch.
From memory, I think the panel got it right when they identified it as A minor.
And another question has just occurred to me-- If Beethoven wrote it in A minor is A minor the key that most orchestras around the world play it in. And why did Beethoven choose A minor?

[DrakeM]

Well you stated that not many people have so called perfect pitch. So what are the odds that a random panel all had perfect pitch. I suspect the panel were all Classical trained people very familiar with the piece of music. That would be my guess as to what happen, but then I didn't see the show.

Perfect pitch, I have been told is the ability for someone to be told to sing in a KEY and that person then sings in that key. That is pretty awesome.

I was told told I had perfect pitch years ago, because I have the ability to sing the song in what ever key the band is playing in without knowing the KEY.

I have found the later to be more valuable than the former in live band playing.

Regards
Drake

[BogdanH]

Agree with Drake: recognizing a pitch ("it's A-minor!") is something only very trained musician can do. That is, if I would listen to Für Elise, then I would be able to find the right pitch on keyboard (after few attempts) -but that something every keyboard player can do. And if I may add to Drake's comments... well, not all quiz shows are that honest.. goal is, to make quiz interesting for audience (no matter what).

About "do other orchestras usually play known pieces in the same pitch as originally written?". To my humble knowledge, the answer is: yes-mostly- usually. That is, if orchestra is presenting classical piece as such, then it will be in original pitch. Now... it can also depends on orchestra configuration, where some changes might suit orchestra's instruments better. And finally, we also have "covers", where orchestra plays known pieces in slightly different style and maybe uses different pitch at that (Mantovani, J.Last, etc.).
Why A-minor for Für Elise? Or why composers use(d) some particular pitch in particular piece? As I'm not educated musician, I can only guess... and so I think C-major is the most "boring" pitch among them. It's the easiest to play, though. Not long ago I was working on a style for one of Jack Nitzche's music. Originally it's in A-major (if I recall correctly), but because I didn't feel comfortable to play it (yeah, I'm amateur), I tried in C-major. And guess what.. it sounded "weird".. "not right".. it just wasn't that appealing anymore. And so I conclude, different pitch-es raise different "emotions" in audience.. music is perceived differently depending on pitch.
Of course, there might be other reasons for why particular pitch. There are many different types of instruments in orchestra and they all need to be in harmony. For example, a flute can only play certain range of notes. But if flute is required at some particular part, then composer needs to make sure flute can play all notes in that part -so he chooses the pitch, so that all needed instruments can can be presented as intended by composer.
Sorry for longer post.. I became a little carried away

Just sharing my thoughts,
Bogdan

[mikf]

Drake is right, the panel was being tested on its knowledge of the piece rather than their pitching ability.
Perfect pitch as it's commonly called - or more correctly Absolute Pitch -  is the ability to correctly identify a note on hearing it without hearing any other reference note, or to perfectly sing that note with no other reference note. It's a gift very few people have. It is not about identifying a key, but a note.
The term " perfect pitch" is also frequently used to describe a vocalist who never sings sharp or flat, and who correctly picks up the key of the tune just from a short intro or chord. This is what Drake is describing and I think that is probably a more correct use of the term.
Classical instrumental music will typically be played in the original key not just because it's appropriate, but because that is what exists, and also what the player has practiced. To re-write a whole orchestral arrangement of a symphony, opera or concerto in a different key is a lot of work, and high cost. Or at least it was before the days of digital music software which can now do this on a computer.
Classical vocal music would also typically be sung in the original key, but some singers may work around this a bit when they struggle with the range of the song. For example an aging tenor giving concerts might cheat a bit by move some pieces down a couple of semi tones.
Mike