BEETHOVEN

In his thirty-two piano sonatas, Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827) succeeded in creating a collection of works with an unusually wide range of expression that still touches listeners around the world. The different sides of humanity are insightfully brought out in the music, aptly depicting rage, longing, and ecstatic joy, among other emotions. The Farewell Sonata (Les Adieux), composed in 1809–1810 during a period of unrest in Vienna, also delves deep into the core of emotions. Napoleon's troops were approaching the city, forcing Beethoven's close friend and patron, Archduke Rudolph, to flee. This sonata is one of the few to which Beethoven himself gave a programmatic subtitle, and Farewell (Le-be-wohl in German) is marked quite concretely in the score above the first three quarter notes. The first movement, Das Lebewohl, depicts a tender farewell to a dear friend, while the second movement, Abwesenheit (Absence), conveys an uncertain, anxious anticipation. The sonata ends with a virtuosic, joyful finale, Das Wiedersehen (The Reunion).

The first part begins slowly with a descending three-note motif, on which the musical themes are based. After the introduction, the music moves directly into a lively Allegro, whose energy seems to celebrate friendship, while the descending chromatic passages are reminiscent of the moment of parting. The unusually long coda plays with the theme of farewell using various imitative techniques, as if emphasizing the dialogue between friends and their long farewells. The second movement, Andante espressivo, with its reduced seventh chords, plunges deep into loneliness and also expresses the fear that things will not return to normal. The joy of reunion is unleashed in the finale, which opens triumphantly with a sparkling cascade of runs. With its soloistic brilliance and majestic key (E-flat major), the final movement is somewhat reminiscent of the Emperor Concerto, which is also dedicated to Archduke Rudolph.