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Corrected title 'In the Footsteps of Jan Ladislav Dussek: An Interview by Paul ArchambaultArchambault'.
 
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{{short description|Piano sonata by Beethoven}}
[[ImageFile:Lebe wohl.jpg|thumb|right|200px| First two bars of the piece, indicating the syllables "{{lang|de|Le-be-wohl}}" over the three-note theme, here an [[interrupted cadence]].]]
[[Ludwig van Beethoven]]'s '''Piano Sonata No. 26 in E{{music|flat}} major, [[opus number|Op.]] 81a''', known as '''''Les Adieux''''' ("The Farewells"), was written during the years 1809 and 1810.▼
{{Listen|filename=Klaviersonate Nr. 26 Les Adieux op. 81a - I. Adagio, Allegro.ogg|filename2=Klaviersonate Nr. 26 Les Adieux Es-Dur op. 81a - II. Andante espressivo.ogg|filename3=Klaviersonate Nr. 26 Les Adieux Es-Dur op. 81a - III.Vivacissamente.ogg|title=I. Das Lebewohl|title2=II. Abwesenheit|title3=III. Das Wiedersehen|description3=Played by [[Artur Schnabel]] in 1932}}
 
▲[[Ludwig van Beethoven]]'s '''Piano Sonata No. 26 in E{{music|flat}} major, [[opus number|Op.]] 81a''', known as '''''Les Adieux''''' ("The FarewellsFarewell"), was written during the years 1809 and 1810. This sonata was influenced by [[Jan Ladislav Dussek]]'s [[Piano Sonata No. 18 (Dussek)|sonata with the same nickname]].
The title ''{{lang|fr|Les Adieux}}'' implies a [[Program Music|programmatic]] nature. The French attack on Vienna, led by [[Napoleon I of France|Napoléon Bonaparte]] in 1809, forced Beethoven's patron, [[Rudolph of Austria (Cardinal)|Archduke Rudolph]], to leave the city. Yet, there is some uncertainty about this nature of the piece — or at least, about the degree to which Beethoven wished this programmatic nature would be known. He titled the three movements "{{lang|de|Lebewohl}}", "{{lang|de|Abwesenheit}}", and "{{lang|de|Wiedersehen}}" ('farewell', 'absence', and 'reunion'), and reportedly regarded the French "{{lang|fr|Adieux}}" (said to whole assemblies or cities) as a poor translation of the feeling of the German "{{lang|de|Lebewohl}}" (said heartfully to a single person).<ref>Kolodin, 1975.</ref> Indeed, Beethoven wrote the syllables "{{lang|de|Le-be-wohl}}" over the first three chords.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Jaynes|first1=Edwin Thompson|title=The Physical Basis of Music|date=1991|publisher=Unpublished|location=http://bayes.wustl.edu/etj/music/m7h.pdf|page=798|url=http://bayes.wustl.edu/etj/music.html|accessdate=20 July 2015}}</ref>▼
 
▲The title ''{{lang|fr|Les Adieux}}'' implies a [[Program Music|programmatic]] nature. The French attack on Vienna, led by [[Napoleon I of France|Napoléon Bonaparte]] in 1809, forced Beethoven's patron, [[Rudolph of Austria (Cardinal)|Archduke Rudolph]], to leave the city. Yet, there is some uncertainty about this nature of the piece — or at least, about the degree to which Beethoven wished this programmatic nature wouldshould be known. He titled the three movements "{{lang|de|Lebewohl}}", "{{lang|de|Abwesenheit}}", and "{{lang|de|Wiedersehen}}" ('farewell', 'absence', and 'reunion'), and reportedly regarded the French "{{lang|fr|Adieux}}" (said to whole assemblies or cities) as a poor translation of the feeling of the German "{{lang|de|Lebewohl}}" (said heartfully to a single person).<ref>Kolodin, 1975.</ref> Indeed, Beethoven wrote the syllables "{{lang|de|Le-be-wohl}}" over the first three chords.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Jaynes|first1=Edwin Thompson|title=The Physical Basis of Music|date=1991|publisher=Unpublished|location=http://bayes.wustl.edu/etj/music/m7h.pdf|page=798|url=http://bayes.wustl.edu/etj/music.html|accessdate=20 July 2015}}</ref>
 
On the first 1811 publication, a dedication was added reading "On the departure of his Imperial Highness, for the Archduke Rudolph in admiration".
 
An average performance of the piece lasts about 17 minutes. The sonata is one of Beethoven's most challenging sonatas because of the mature emotions that must be conveyed throughout as well as the technical difficulties involved. It is also the bridge between his middle period and his later period and is considered the third great sonata of the middle period.
 
==Form==
ThreeThe three movements of this''Les Adieux'' sonatawere originally written in German and French, and the last two movements are described in German because of the unusual tempo. The translation in English shown in italic as below:
{{ordered list|list_style_type=upper-roman
|Das Lebewohl (Les Adieux – ''The Farewell''): Adagio – Allegro (in E{{flat}} major)
|Abwesenheit (L'Absence – ''The Absence''): Andante espressivo (In gehender Bewegung, doch mit viel Ausdruck – ''In walking motion, but with much expression'') (in [[C minor]])
|Das Wiedersehen (Le Retour – ''The Return''): Vivacissimamente (Im lebhaftesten Zeitmaße – ''The liveliest time measurements'') (in E{{flat}} major)}}
===I. Das Lebewohl===
 
:[[File:Beethoven piano sonata no 26 mvmt 1 bars 1-5.svg|650px]]
 
The sonata opens in a {{music|time|2|4}} time [[Tempo#Basic tempo markings| Adagio]] with a short, simple [[Motif (music)|motif]] of three chords, at first forming an [[interrupted cadence]], over which are written the three syllables ''Le-be-wohl'' ("Fare-thee-well"). This motif is the basis upon which both the first and the second subject groups are drawn. As soon as the [[Sonata form#Outline of sonata form|introduction]] is over and the [[Sonata form#Outline of sonata form|exposition]] begins, the time signature changes to {{music|cuttime}} (alla breve) and the score is marked Allegro.
 
Line 24 ⟶ 26:
The movement has a surprisingly long [[coda (music)|coda]] which occupies over a quarter of the movement's length. The coda encompasses both the subjects in a display of powerful mastery over composition. Typically the movement played with the expected repeats lasts a little over 7 minutes.
 
===II. Abwesenheit===
 
:[[File:Beethoven piano sonata no 26 mvmt 2 bars 1-4.svg|650px]]
 
The ''Andante espressivo'' is harmonically built on variations of the diminished chord and the appoggiatura. The movement is very emotional and is often played with [[rubato]] that would be found in later composers such as [[Robert Schumann]] and [[Johannes Brahms]]. Much of the subject matter is rhythmically repeated consecutively as well as sectionally, perhaps to emphasise the feelings of uncomfortable solitude and fear of no return. The arrival of the dominant seventh chord at the end of movement signals the return to the tonic key, but remains unresolved until the triumphant appearance of the main theme in the final movement (which begins ''attacca''). Typically the movement lasts just under 4 minutes.
 
===III. Das Wiedersehen===
 
:[[File:Beethoven piano sonata no 26 mvmt 3 bars 1-4.svg|650px]]
The finale, also in [[sonata form]], starts joyfully on the dominant,a B{{music|flat}} dominant 7th chord, in {{music|time|6|8}} time. After the startling introduction, the first subject shows upappears in the right hand and is immediately transferred to the left hand, which isthen repeated twice with an elaboration of the arrangement in the right hand. Before the second subject group arrives, there is one remarkable bridge passage, introducing a phrase that goes from G{{music|flat}} major to F major chords, first through distinctive [[Dynamics (music)|forte]] [[arpeggios]], then in a more delicate, fine [[Dynamics (music)|piano]] arrangement.▼
 
==Relation to Dussek's Sonata==
It has been said that this sonata was influenced by [[Piano Sonata No. 18 (Dussek)|Dussek's own ''Les Adieux'']].
 
The pianist [[Frederick Marvin]] said that Dussek's sonata could "have been a model for the Les Adieux Sonata by Beethoven ten years later." Marvin further points out the similarities in motives and form in Beethoven's sonata to Dussek's.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Archambault |first1=Paul |title=In the Footsteps of Jan Ladislav Dussek: An Interview by Paul Archambault |journal=Syracuse Scholar |date=1979 |volume= 1 |issue=1 |url=https://surface.syr.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1018&context=suscholar#:~:text=The%20Invocation%20Sonata%20was%20Dussek's,on%20which%20it%20was%20written.}}</ref>
▲The finale, also in [[sonata form]], starts joyfully on the dominant, B{{music|flat}}, in {{music|time|6|8}} time. After the startling introduction, the first subject shows up in the right hand and is immediately transferred to the left hand, which is repeated twice with an elaboration of the arrangement in the right hand. Before the second subject group arrives, there is one remarkable bridge passage, introducing a phrase that goes from G{{music|flat}} major to F major chords, first through distinctive [[Dynamics (music)|forte]] [[arpeggios]], then in a more delicate, fine [[Dynamics (music)|piano]] arrangement.
 
==References==
Line 45 ⟶ 50:
* [http://download.guardian.co.uk/sys-audio/Arts/Culture/2006/12/05/05_26eflop81a.mp3 A lecture] by [[András Schiff]] on Beethoven's piano sonata Op. 81a
* {{IMSLP2|work=Piano Sonata No.26, Op.81a (Beethoven, Ludwig van)|cname=Piano Sonata No. 26}}
* {{VHV|file=beethoven/sonatas/sonata26-1.krn|cname=Piano sonata no. 26 in E♭ major, op. 81a}}
* [http://traffic.libsyn.com/gardnermuseum/beethoven_op81a.mp3 Recording by Paavali Jumppanen, piano] from the [[Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum]]
 
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