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Beethoven had as one of his students the young Archduke Rudolph. Despite the vast difference in their social stations, they had a close friendship. Lou’s famous “Archduke” Trio, the Trio for Piano, Violin and Cello in B-flat, Op. 97, was written for him. Rudolph was a gifted pianist, and when Beethoven was writing the trio, Rudolph said to him, “Don’t be afraid to make the piano part difficult.” Two centuries of pianists have fumed at Rudolph for that rash request.

One other piece was written for Rudolph, the Piano Sonata in E-flat, Op. 81a, the “Les adieux” Sonata. It was the third of the three sonatas that Beethoven wrote in 1809 at age 39. It was inspired by Rudolph’s flight from Vienna upon the advance of Napoleon’s troops, but it goes far beyond that. The finale has a frantic, sexual quality, and it should be viewed as a man-woman situation, not man-man.

Beethoven labeled it “Characteristic Sonata: the Departure, the Absence and the Return”, and Lou used French in the titles. This business about “characteristic” meant that Lou was using the discipline of the piano sonata to tell a story. The opening notes – G, F, E-flat – known as the Farewell Motif, was to be used by many other composers in similar situations. Robert Schumann based the entire first movement of his Piano Concerto in A minor on that motif. Beethoven was planting the seeds of a whole new trend in Romantic composition.

The Departure starts slowly in 2/4 and adagio. The introduction states the Farewell Motif, and the entire introduction is chromatic, settling into A-flat, not E-flat, at the attacca that leads into a 2/2 movement marked simply allegro. Note that one of the notes of the first subject is on the off-beat. You find yourself leaning forward waiting for it, and it comes a half-beat late. The second subject is in B-flat as expected. The exposition repeats. At 3:41, it’s development time, but it’s a very short development. He recaps quickly, and at 6:22 he begins a long coda. You think he’s going to resolve it quietly, but in the last two chords he ends it decisively

The second movement, “The Absence”, is marked andante espressivo and 2/4, which means it isn’t all that slow. Beethoven uses three flats as a key of convenience, but the movement is neither in E-flat Major nor C minor. The opening is so chromatic that you can’t figure out what key you’re in, and it sounds like a rather long recitative in opera. It finally resolves into E-flat for an attacca into the finale.

The finale, “The Return”, is marked vivacissimamente, which translates loosely as “the liveliest you can make it”. It’s in 6/8, and it illustrates the frantic nature of the return. You have the image of two people rushing at each other. The second subject in B-flat has figurations that sound like two people hugging each other and rocking back and forth. Note that the theme mostly appears on the off-beat. The exposition repeats. At 13:54 there is a very short development based solely on the second subject. At 14:32 he recaps. The second subject appears now in the expected key of E-flat. At 15:56 he slows the coda down to poco andante, as the frantic couple calms down and the doors to the boudoir slowly close. In the last six bars, the fast pace returns, and the couple jumps into bed.

This is the late Chilean pianist Claudio Arrau, one of my favorite Beethoven pianists, playing in 1977.

Beethoven: Piano Sonata in E-flat, Op. 81a