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#TheCompleteBeethoven #368
Piano Sonata in E-flat major, Op. 81a "Les Adieux" (1809-10)
1/ The first movement is dated May 4th, 1809. Eight days later Vienna fell to Napoleon. Everyone knew the French were coming, so shouldn't that be "Les Bienvenues"?
Piano Sonata in E-flat major, Op. 81a "Les Adieux" (1809-10)
1/ The first movement is dated May 4th, 1809. Eight days later Vienna fell to Napoleon. Everyone knew the French were coming, so shouldn't that be "Les Bienvenues"?
2/ The soubriquet wasn't Beethoven's choice. First he called his standalone movement "Der Abschied." Later he changed it to "Das Lebewohl" (The farewell) and added "Abwesenheit" (The absence) and "Das Wiedersehen" (The reunion) to make the most programmatic of his 32 sonatas.
3/ He wrote it to express his sorrow at the departure of his great friend and patron Archduke Rudolph. Like many of the Viennese nobility Rudolph packed his bags and ran for the hills as Napoleon prepared to attack the city. So much for E-flat major being the key of heroism.
4/ Beethoven wrote the three syllables "Le-be-wohl!" over the opening horn-call motif, which forms an interrupted cadence (fare-thee-well), before becoming a unifying element for the whole movement, finally disappearing into the distance as the stagecoach departs at its end.
5/ Beethoven couldn't finish the sonata straight away. While Archduke Rudolph escaped to safety, he was trapped in Vienna having his nerves and his ears shredded by the French bombardment. At one point he famously sheltered in his brother's cellar with pillows over his ears.
6/ Each movement's programmatic title is in German. Tempo markings also appear in German as well as the more usual Italian. Beethoven did this quite often from this time forward, and other Austrian and German composers increasingly took up the practice as the century went on.
7/ 'Abwesenheit' recalls a rhythm from the first movement introduction's premonition of absence. Ambiguous harmony, sighing figures and stabbing sforzandos create a mood of darkness, confusion and loss that the transition to the finale eventually dispels in an explosion of joy.
8/ The conventional view of this sonata is that it expresses Beethoven's sadness at the absence of his friend Archduke Rudolph and joy at his eventual return in January 1810. This scenario has been repeated in countless programme notes, but does it stand up to scrutiny?
9/ Earlier fallings-out with patrons had cost Beethoven dearly. "Rudolph was not only the most generous and loyal patron of Beethoven's life but also the most powerful. Beethoven was determined not to estrange an important patron again." - Jan Swafford. https://twitter.com/deeplyclassical/status/1282581962167857153?s=20
10/ The archduke was a crucial source of income and an ally who opened doors to the corridors of power and homes of the rich and famous. He was Beethoven's only composition student who, under his erratic tutelage, produced "a trickle of respectable work."
11/ There is doubt in the various sources over whether Beethoven composed the last two movements before or after the Archduke's return. Recently alternative theories have been advanced about the source of his inspiration ... https://twitter.com/beethoven250/status/1296065713854197760?s=20
12/ ... and others may be on the way. https://twitter.com/jessicaduchen/status/1305040216802066432?s=20
13/ #TheCompleteBeethovenPianoSonatas #26
Claudio Arrau plays Op. 81a
Whatever the truth behind Les Adieux's aristocratic dedication (Beethoven hated the French translation), it sounds noble indeed in the hands of a true aristocrat of the keyboard.
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4bSKeR9d5zPrfYAsWDtnnK?si=z424tHqlQBSJV7eWyavtqw
Claudio Arrau plays Op. 81a
Whatever the truth behind Les Adieux's aristocratic dedication (Beethoven hated the French translation), it sounds noble indeed in the hands of a true aristocrat of the keyboard.
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4bSKeR9d5zPrfYAsWDtnnK?si=z424tHqlQBSJV7eWyavtqw
