Piano Sonata No. 26 in E‑Flat Major

The circumstances of this work relate to a specific event: the invasion of Vienna in 1809 by Napoleon’s France. The Imperial family fled the Austrian city, including Beethoven’s pupil and patron Archduke Rudolph, the younger brother of the emperor and one of Beethoven’s closest friends, the dedicatee of a string of masterpieces from the Symphony No. 7 to the Missa solemnis. Distressed by Rudolph’s departure, Beethoven composed the Piano Sonata in E-flat major, known in German as Lebewohl and in French as Les Adieux, published as Op. 81 (it is now known as Op. 81a, since another work, a sextet for two horns and strings, was published with the same opus number, and is now designated Op. 81b). The three movements are titled “Das Lebewohl” (“The Farewell”), “Die Abwesenheit” (“The Absence”) and “Das Wiedersehen” (“The Reunion”). The first is a poignant essay on a three-note falling motif, which Beethoven inscribed with the syllables “Le-be-wohl”. The second movement is harmonically unstable, conjuring sorrow and consolation in music that seems to embody a feeling of loss, before the finale, by contrast, erupts in a paean of joy.