Scarlatti typically wrote sonatas in pairs, often linking them by key and contrasting their dominant features. In the case of this lively E major effort, it is the upbeat sibling of the melancholy Sonata in E minor, K. 402. It should be mentioned that while Scarlatti regarded such sonatas as related, few keyboard players program them together on concert programs or recordings. This Sonata in E major could not be further in character from its darker cousin: it brims with energy and lightness, and challenges the performer with more than a few virtuosic hurdles during its breathless course.

Marked Allegro, it opens with an ascending figure that reaches an elegant trill, which then sends the music momentarily higher still. The angular main theme and its second subject are playful and bright, both using a wider range on the keyboard than found in the composer's earlier sonatas, which were written for harpsichords with smaller keyboards. As usual with Scarlatti, the second half of this Sonata is devoted to thematic development of the material in the two preceding expository sections. Here, the development begins a little more seriously, the music turning downward after the trill is reached. Still, the overall mood is bright and playful, especially in the treatment of the secondary material. This Sonata typically lasts about four minutes.

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