Gentleness and spirituality certainly characterize this extraordinary transformation of sonata form. Two expressive themes contrast in every possible way, even in tempo and meter. The first barely murmurs its way into our consciousness, with its playful repeated . rhythm:

The second theme breathes considerable passion and draws on some brilliant piano effects:

Both themes sound inconclusive, even fragmentary, and the second follows on the heels of the first with almost shocking abruptness. (Is it a second theme? A bridge theme?)

After a cadence theme that dwindles to little more than a scale, a brief development-like passage shows theme 1, with its characteristic rhythm, growing into a new melody that rises up in pitch and volume. At its high point, a sense of harmonic expectancy reminds us of the retransitions of conventional sonata forms, and indeed it ushers in the first theme, but now f, its tranquillity disturbed. In this recapitulation, the second theme introduces new juxtapositions of dynamics (p →ff) and of unexpected harmonies.

The closing theme leads to an especially benign coda. It focuses on the rhythm of the first theme, restoring the theme’s original tenderness in a version of it that reintroduces the melody from the development, quietly now, and closes with repeated cadences.