General Overview

This sonata was composed in 1817, a year when Schubert first intensively engaged with the piano sonata. The autograph manuscript of this sonata is numbered with the Roman numeral "Sonate I", indicating that the composer conceived a set of six sonatas.

For this sonata, only the first movement's autograph manuscript survives; the second movement was first published in 1907 as a piano piece. The third movement's initial draft, along with that of the first movement, is preserved in a copy made in 1925, but the original has been lost.

Given that the first movement is in E minor, the second in E major, and the third in A-flat major, current research strongly suggests that these three movements do not constitute a complete sonata. While there is a strong view that a Rondo in E major, D 506, was intended as the fourth movement, another perspective, similar to Beethoven's Piano Sonata in E minor (Op. 90), considers the initial two movements as a complete work and associates the third movement with the preceding work, D 557.

Movement-by-Movement Analysis

First Movement: Moderato, E minor, 4/4 time

It is in sonata form. The first theme in E minor, characterized by numerous slurred stepwise progressions, possesses a gentle and lyrical character. The second theme is presented in the relative major, G major (m. 17). This new thematic area is characterized by the continuous sounding of triplets, serving as an accompaniment with embellishing figures, repeated chords, and waltz-like patterns.

The development section (m. 38) is constructed using material from the second theme. Even with repeated modulations and changes in accompaniment patterns, the triplets characteristic of the second theme constantly resound in one of the voices.

The recapitulation, beginning at m. 61, is where these triplets cease to be used. Here, the first theme returns in the tonic key, and the second theme in the parallel major. To allow the second theme to return in the parallel major, the re-presentation of the theme (m. 7), which was repeated in E minor in the exposition, is performed in B minor in the recapitulation (m. 67).

Second Movement: Allegretto, E major, 2/4 time

It takes an ABA’B’ form, but because section B is presented in the dominant and recapitulated in the tonic, it is sometimes referred to as “sonata form without a development section.” Indeed, Schubert employs the tonal principle of tension-release in this slow movement, where section B, presented in the dominant, returns in the tonic. On the other hand, the writing in section B, with its presentation of various themes and repeated modulations, clearly differs from that of a sonata form movement.

Section A, beginning with a melody featuring the dactylic (long-short-short) rhythm favored by Schubert, is in lyrical E major and consists of a first part where an 8-measure phrase is repeated, and a second part where a 5-measure melody is repeated. Throughout section A, sixteenth notes are consistently used in the inner voices, but a sudden forte chord (m. 30) interrupts the flow of sixteenth notes, ushering in a new formal section (section B). After this chord introduces a phrase in B major twice, a section in G-sharp minor follows (m. 38). That this section is thematically derived from section A can be understood not only from the use of sixteenth-note accompaniment but also from the melody's dactylic rhythm. When measures 30-48 are repeated in different keys, a new section appears in B major at m. 66. This section employs new motivic material in both the left-hand melody and the right-hand accompaniment of triplets. At m. 82, the inner voice takes over the triplets, and a melody derived from section A, beginning with a dactyl, is played dolce. Then, at m. 97, the chordal figure that announced the beginning of section B returns, and section B further develops, now with triplets as its main axis.

At m. 135, section A is recapitulated, and the opening melody is varied by doubling the right hand in octaves. The return of section B occurs in the tonic key (m. 160). After a series of modulations similar to the first section B, the movement concludes with the return of the dolce theme from m. 82 in E major.

 This movement exhibits an expansion of its scale due to the incorporation of various materials into section B, and in this sense, it fully displays stylistic characteristics typical of Schubert's later works.

Third Movement: Scherzo: Allegro vivace, A-flat major, 3/4 time

It adopts the compound ternary form typical of a scherzo: Main section (ABA’) – Trio section (CDC’) – Da capo of the main section. However, particularly due to the diversity of material in the middle section of the main part, it significantly surpasses previous piano sonatas in scale.

The opening theme begins briskly in A-flat major. At the outset, a left-hand rhythm of a quarter note plus a long note is presented; from m. 5, it condenses to a quarter note plus a half note, and this rhythmic figure characterizes section A. When the opening section closes in the dominant, E-flat major (m. 12), the melody develops in E-flat major, supported by the accompaniment of this rhythmic figure, leading to a repeat sign.

The middle section begins with a canon where the right hand follows a legato melody played by the left hand. Transitioning from E-flat major through E-flat minor to G-flat major, a sudden half cadence in F-sharp minor appears, utilizing an enharmonic relationship. Using this as a hinge, the latter part, primarily based on sequences, continues, and section A returns (m. 83). In this recapitulation, a modification is made to remain in the tonic key by reproducing the B-flat from m. 13 as E-flat in m. 95.

The Trio section is based on a flowing accompaniment of eighth notes, in contrast to the main section's accompaniment rhythm of a quarter note plus a half note. However, the appearance of a half note plus a quarter note rhythmic figure in the middle section (section D) rhythmically links the main section and the Trio section.