The principal key is D minor, and the form is ternary.

Section A [a (measures 1-8) + a1 (measures 9-16)]

Section B [b (measures 17-24) + b1 (measures 25-32)]

From measure 32, a Da Capo instruction directs a return to the beginning, concluding at measure 16 with 'fine'.

The work's title, 'Aufschwung,' signifies an uplifting mood, likely referring to an emotional surge or elevation. Observing the intense sixteenth-note movement in the dark D minor tonality, a characteristic feature of the work, it appears to approximate an agitato expression.

Although the middle section B modulates to A major, the harmonic progression consists of a repetition of I and V, thus not strongly conveying a major key character. Rather, since the tonic chord (I) of A major functions as the dominant chord for D minor, section B, from the perspective of the principal key D minor, sounds as if the double dominant and dominant are intensely reiterated.