This is Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 26, Les Adieux ("The Farewell").
This piece is connected to the 1809 campaign between Napoleon’s French army and Austria. Unusually, Beethoven himself gave titles to all three movements: the first movement, "Das Lebewohl" (The Farewell), the second movement, "Die Abwesenheit" (The Absence), and the third movement, "Das Wiedersehen" (The Reunion). The work was dedicated to Archduke Rudolph, the youngest son of the Holy Roman Emperor, who was deeply connected to Beethoven. The composition reflects Rudolph’s evacuation from Vienna to escape the war, his absence, and his eventual return and reunion.
Now, the issue lay in the Adagio of the first movement. When "Das Lebewohl" is translated into Japanese as "Kokubetsu" (farewell), it conveys a deeply tragic and sorrowful sense of parting. In Japanese ("Kokubetsu" generally refers to a final farewell to the spirit of the deceased, often by family and friends). However, as expected, my musical advisor provided the following insightful comment as a hint.
"The Japanese translation "Kokubetsu(Farewell) is a mistranslation in my opinion. I think this pice has been misunderstood because of that. I think the real nuance should be something like "Take care of yourself. It reminds me of the German folk song "Mussiden" (Farewell, My Homeland). When I looked it up on Wikipedia, I found that its German title is actually Abschied. Interestingly, Beethoven himself originally titled his sketches for this piece Abschied as well. In other words, it signifies a temporary farewell—'I’m leaving now, but I’ll be back'—rather than a farewell to the deceased. So, Das Lebewohl does not mean "Kokubetsu" in the sense of parting with someone forever."
If it was just a casual 'I'll be off for a bit!' kind of farewell, then it wouldn't have been such a deeply tragic parting. Something more like 'Take care! See you soon!'—not overly sorrowful. In fact, Archduke Rudolph returned to Vienna in about eight months. With that in mind, I programmed the Adagio of the first movement in a way that doesn't convey an overwhelming sense of tragedy.
Title: Piano Sonata No.26 in E-flat major, Op.81a
Sound Source: Vienna Synchron Concert D-274
Audio file format: mp3
YouTube:Beethoven Piano Sonata No.26