Composed concurrently with Op. 110 from 1821 to 1822, this sonata ultimately became Beethoven's last piano sonata. Since Op. 109, the sonata form, which had previously been expanded, became extremely condensed and compressed, a tendency that is prominent in this work as well. Furthermore, the contrapuntal experiments that culminated in the form of a “fugue” in Op. 110 and 106 are here integrated into the sonata form.

First Movement: C minor, 4/4 time, Sonata Form

(Introduction) The Maestoso introduction, beginning with a sudden descending diminished seventh leap, is characterized by a sharp dotted rhythm (double-dotted eighth note + thirty-second note) and a descending stepwise second motive. Furthermore, just before the main section begins, the ascending stepwise figure appearing from the anacrusis of measure 12 transforms into an element of the main theme by shortening its note value to a sixteenth-note triplet.

(Exposition) A trill figure on G and A-flat introduces the main theme, leading into the main section (mm. 19–). The main theme is composed of contrasting motivic combinations: leaps and stepwise motion, ascending and descending, such as a rapid ascending stepwise fourth combined with a descending diminished fourth leap by sixteenth-note triplets, and a descending stepwise motion from a diminished seventh leap. Following the thematic confirmation (mm. 29–), a transition (mm. 35–) ensues. Here, a continuously moving sixteenth-note figure, developed from the main theme's motive, and an eighth-note-based figure progress imitatively through invertible counterpoint, reaching A-flat major. The subordinate theme in A-flat major (mm. 50–) derives from the repeated dotted rhythms and stepwise seconds of the introduction. The fleeting subordinate theme is immediately torn apart by a diminished seventh arpeggio, concluding the exposition with a transition based on the main theme's motive (mm. 56–) and a coda (mm. 67–69).

(Development + Recapitulation) In the development section (mm. 70–), the main theme's motive is exclusively treated. Motives with expanded intervals from the main theme, and similarly expanded note values accompanied by trills, are developed into a fugato through invertible counterpoint. Modulating from G minor to C minor and F minor, as the main theme's leaping figure is harmonized and repeated imitatively, it flows into the recapitulation of the main theme in the tonic key (mm. 92–). After the subordinate theme is recapitulated in the parallel major, C major (mm. 116–), an intervening developmental section resembling a confirmation in F minor (mm. 124–) leads through a transition with diminished seventh arpeggios and the main theme's motive (mm. 132–) to the coda (mm. 145–). In the coda, the ascending stepwise figure that appeared in the introduction and transformed into the main theme's motive is harmonized, sounding chorale-like, and, fitting for a movement employing polyphonic techniques, concludes with a Picardy third on the tonic chord of the parallel major.

Second Movement: C major, 9/16 time, Variations

The 16-measure Arietta theme is repeated in 8-measure sections by a repeat sign, totaling 32 measures. The first 8 measures are in C major, while the latter half shifts to the relative minor, A minor. In Variation 1 (mm. 17–), a figural variation occurs centered on the dominant G, and in Variation 2 (mm. 33–), the meter changes to 6/16, with variations characterized by a distinctive rhythm reminiscent of swing. Variation 3 (mm. 48–) further changes the meter to 12/32, presenting a variation where the harmonic framework of the theme is arpeggiated. Syncopated rhythms and the emphasis on weak beats by sforzando markings evoke even off-beat, jazz-like elements. And for such minute note values to dominate music at a slow tempo is almost pathological. In Variation 4 (mm. 65–), the meter returns to 9/16. After the harmonic framework of the theme appears in harmonized form in the low register over a tremolo centered on the tonic and dominant, the variation transitions to supporting continuous thirty-second note ornamental passages with single notes and chords in the high register. Fragments of the theme appear above and below trills, and a shift to the parallel minor, C minor, forms the transition to the final variation (mm. 120–). In Variation 5 (mm. 131–), the theme's figure reappears clearly over the support of arpeggiated harmonies. Finally, in the coda (mm. 160–), the theme appears enveloped by an extended trill and chordal tremolo, concluding the piece by recalling the opening motive of the theme.