This Sonata is generally regarded as one of Scarlatti's finest, both for its progressive harmonies and for its subtle sense of thematic development. Some musicologists have cited this E minor effort as one of the most compelling examples of the composer auguring the harmonic world of Beethoven. Moreover, the listener notices the work is rife with a profound sense of melancholy, its sadness elegant and contained rather than heart-on-sleeve or passionate. In addition, at ten minutes or more in duration, it is one of Scarlatti's lengthiest outpourings, at least double the size of his average sonata.

Marked Andante, the work opens with a gentle theme of mostly descending contour, played in sparse writing that yields extremely transparent textures. The secondary material in the expository sections has a slightly greater warmth and features a bit less leanness of sound. The development section—which in Scarlatti's sonatas typically makes up the second half, as is the case here—begins with a much more Romantic rendering of the main theme, wherein Beethoven and even the Romantics that followed him are foreshadowed. The thematic development is complex and rich throughout, with a few rays of sunshine breaking through the clouds to brighten the musical canvas a bit. Still, the mood remains largely ponderous and downcast, but within a warmer, almost Romantic style: there may be a lonely or dispirited feeling here, but there is also disarming beauty, a priceless consolation.

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