The second movement of Beethoven’s Sonata No. 26, Op. 81a, is a short, reflective Andante espressivo titled Die Abwesenheit. A dotted upper figure alternates with more flowing cantabile passages. Held inner notes, small decorations, and rolling lower patterns keep the texture active beneath the restrained melody. The closing phrase leads directly into the finale.

Opening figure: The right hand begins with a short dotted gesture while a lower note and moving eighths support it. Some upper notes remain held as others move, giving the phrase more than one layer. Grace notes and brief runs decorate the line, and lower chords enter between the upper attacks. A crescendo leads to a rapid right-hand passage played alone.

Cantabile contrast and return: A Quieto marking introduces a calmer upper melody over rolling left-hand thirty-second notes and intervals. The upper line becomes more decorated, with a small trill and quick groups of notes. Short right-hand chords then sound above a moving lower figure. After a pause, the opening material returns in a changed harmony and grows through further chordal responses and upper embellishments.

Closing transition: Another unaccompanied upper run leads to a thicker version of the cantabile melody above the lower motion. The final phrase brings back the opening gesture more quietly, then simplifies into small rising upper figures. Soft dynamics and an attacca subito marking carry this unsettled close directly into the next movement.

Interesting fact: Above the opening, the edition prints both Andante espressivo and a German instruction emphasizing a moving pace with expression.