Moderato, C major, 3/4 time.

Although it takes the sonata form, it possesses a structure typical of later Schubert, which inserts a mediant key between the tonic and dominant regions, thereby reducing the tension of the exposition. (For details, refer to the commentary on Piano Sonata No. 21, D 960.)

The first theme begins quietly in C major, and the 12-bar theme is varied twice (from m. 14, from m. 25). The first theme area moves towards a dominant seventh chord on D, which is the dominant of the dominant (m. 39), anticipating the second theme in the dominant key; however, the second theme is actually presented in E-flat major (m. 41). Led by the dominant seventh chord on D that reappears in m. 62, the third theme commences in G major from m. 68. However, as this theme deviates to E minor, the definitive establishment of G major is postponed until the section from m. 78, which can be termed a coda.

The development section begins in A-flat major (m. 87) and, like the third theme, consists of a decorative accompaniment of sixteenth notes and a melody of long note values. After transitioning through F minor to D-flat major, the opening motive of the third theme is repeatedly employed (m. 102). After returning to A-flat major via F minor, the manuscript breaks off at m. 121, unresolved amidst the modulation.