#richardgoode

Beethoven: Piano Sonata ’’Les Adieux’’ op. 81

My second post is about a piece which is a monument of friendly love, which is often underappreciated in classical music. The sonata ’’Les Adieux’’(Farewell) is his 26th sonata, one of the last piano pieces from the middle period. It is a programmatic and autobiograhpic piece too. He composed this piece from 1809 to 1810. In 1809, Napoléon Bonaparte attacked Vienna, and Beethoven’s patron (and close friend) Archduke Rudolphe had to leave the city. The Archduke was an accomplished musician, and other famous works, such as the Hammerklavier Sonata, Missa Solemnis or the Archduke Trio were also dedicated to him.

This sonata tells the story of the Archduke’s departure, his absence and return in three movements.

I. Das Lebewohl (The Farewell)

II. Abwesenheit (Absence)

III. Das Wiedersehen (The Return)

The sonata’s title originates from the first movement. The syllabes of the German word Lebewohl are written above the first three chords, forshadowing the Leitmotif technique later used by romantic era composerts such as Liszt and Wagner.

I chose a recording by Richard Goode, who is the first American pianist to record all the piano sonatas by Beethoven.