Beethoven sonatas to build up to les adieux

[ravelpin]

I am an intermediate pianist and have played Chopin etude op 10 no 3, Chopin berceuse, Debussy cathedral engloutie and Beethoven sonata op 2 no 1 1st mvt.
I am currently learning Beethoven sonata op 13 and I would love to eventually play les adieux sonata. what are some Beethoven sonatas (or other pieces) that I could pay to help me build up to les adieux?

[lelle]

I think you should just work on building a solid technical foundation regarding dealing with fast passagework and chords in general and you will get there. Do you have a teacher?

A lot of Les adieux is pretty straightforward, but then Beethoven just had to put in some pretty gnarly spots with fast chords/double notes which pretty much every student I've ever heard struggles with at some point.

[ravelpin]

Yes I've got a teacher. Thanks for the advice  . Are there any exercises / pieces I could learn to help with this fast passagework? I've worked through a bit of Hanon and Czerny but they haven't been too beneficial for this but maybe I just haven't played enough of it.

[pianistavt]

Yes I've got a teacher. Thanks for the advice  . Are there any exercises / pieces I could learn to help with this fast passagework? I've worked through a bit of Hanon and Czerny but they haven't been too beneficial for this but maybe I just haven't played enough of it.

What Czerny book are you working from?  The Art of Finger Dexterity op 740 is a good companion to Beethoven. There are a few studies on thirds in there, but all the pieces are helpful and applicable on some level.

Les Adieux is considered level 4 difficulty in Piano Library, you could hunt around for level 3 and 3.5 in here for preparatory sonatas:
https://www.pianolibrary.org/composers/beethoven/
https://www.pianolibrary.org/difficulty/beethoven/

I think you can attempt op 81a after you complete op 13.  What does your teacher say?

[ravelpin]

Yeah I've looked at the op 740 a bit but I haven't properly worked through any so I'll give it a try. I asked my teacher and he says that he did op2 no1 then op 13 then op 10 no 1 and then les adieux but that I probably don't have to do all those in preparation as he started earlier with Beethoven sonatas than I did. I was considering maybe doing op31 no2 or op2 no3 just to get more technically comfortable with Beethoven but if you think that I can jump the gap to les adieux then that's great. 

[dizzyfingers]

...  if you think that I can jump the gap to les adieux then that's great. 

It's hard to tell without hearing and seeing your playing. But your teacher sees/hears you play, so I would go on his recommendation.

The challenges of les adieux are primarily musical, not technical, imo.

in any event, it's not a question of success or failure, you'll surely get something out of it, these are your first passes at these piano sonatas, you will likely visit them again in later life.

[akselspiano]

I personally realy suggest number 13 and 18, not only since they are in the same key, but certain elements in the same key really are crucial to build up to it!
Of course 2 would not be enough- for sure an early sonata from op.2, a bit towards middle (like 11,16, tempest and even 10) is really helpful