Allegro, F minor, 4/4 time

Schubert attempted to begin the opening movement of his Piano Sonata in F-sharp minor, D 571, with a lyrical theme, and it is likely that this movement was composed with a similar concept in mind.

This movement is in sonata form. The first theme group begins with a section serving as an introduction, presenting the theme in unison, after which the F minor theme introduced at the beginning is lyrically played as the main melody, supported by an arpeggiated accompaniment in eighth notes (m. 15). From m. 22, the relative major, A-flat major, begins to appear, and at m. 30, the theme presented at m. 15 is played in A-flat major. At m. 38, the left hand takes over the melody, while the right hand plays a new accompaniment figure in triplets. After an interlude in E major (m. 54), new themes are presented in A-flat major from m. 64 and m. 68, concluding the exposition. Thus, in terms of tonal structure, the exposition largely consists of an F minor section and an A-flat major section, but the new theme in A-flat major only appears at the very end of the exposition.

The development section begins in D-flat major, and from m. 83, it develops using the second theme of the exposition. Against this theme, the opening theme is combined at m. 90. Here, Schubert's new attempt to construct the development section by combining both themes can be observed. The movement then breaks off at the beginning of the recapitulation in the tonic key.