Allegro, F minor, 2/4 time

Written in sonata form with three themes.

The movement opens with a tense sixteenth-note motive in F minor, reminiscent of Sturm und Drang. This motive is presented in unison and then taken over by the left hand as accompaniment from measure 13. Against this background, a syncopated melody appears in the right hand. After this melody continues for about eight measures, it returns to unison, and then a new theme is presented in F major, the parallel major (measure 27). This second theme contrasts with the first theme by the cessation of the sixteenth-note motion. The second theme is presented again with a new accompaniment of triplets (measure 43), leading towards A-flat major (measure 55). Initially, the tonality is unstable due to a succession of second-inversion chords and the insertion of A-flat minor, but at measure 73, a theme based on motivic material from the second theme appears in A-flat major. While this section's length suggests it could be called a codetta, its presentation of a theme in the relative major allows it to be interpreted as a third theme within the sonata form.

The development section, beginning at measure 97, consists of two parts; the first half is developed through the manipulation of material from the first theme. From measure 129, the second half begins, and a new theme is presented in B-flat major. Modulations rapidly succeed one another through B-flat minor, G-flat major, F-sharp minor, and A major, leading to the recapitulation at measure 175.

In the recapitulation, the first theme area features elaborations that go beyond mere restatement, such as the addition of countermelodies and melodic variations. This type of writing is more commonly found in the forms of middle movements or the rondo form of final movements than in the sonata form of opening movements, indicating that this movement, while employing the framework of sonata form, is differentiated from a typical opening movement. From measure 201, the second theme returns in A-flat major. From this point, the manuscript indicates only the right hand, with the exception of a few measures; however, since both hands are written again in the coda from measure 271, Schubert's practice of omitting the left hand for the second and third themes in the recapitulation when it is identical to the exposition can be observed. The third theme returns in F major (measure 247), and after a modulation to A-flat major (measure 255), the opening sixteenth-note unison returns in F minor (measure 271), followed by a crescendo, and the piece quietly closes in F major.