A theme with variations begins this two-movement sonata. The theme, marked Andante con espressione, begins as a florid little gesture but after a bar finds repose in a long, spacious phrase that stretches lazily along the staff. The variations treat this material respectfully, embellishing this or that sequence without at all disguising the original contours, and occasionally delving into minor keys to give the music added gravity. Just as the music begins to turn a little agitated, the original theme reasserts itself to close out the movement. A monothematic rondo, marked Presto, ends the sonata-meaning that the entire work is based on only two melodies. In this movement, the tune is lively and humorous, twirling around and making little chromatic rises and falls. Each intervening episode is merely a variation on the theme, first more thick-textured and then darker but still witty. This is all that came of a publisher's request for six new sonatas, but Haydn managed to splash it with enough contrast for half a dozen works.

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