Szymanowski, at age 22, was still studying with Zygmunt Noskowski when he wrote this sonata, and not surprisingly the composer had not yet found his own voice in this work. The sonata bears traces of Brahms and especially Franck, with just the faintest recollection of Szymanowski's Chopin-esque teen style.

The first movement, Allegro moderato, falls into the traditional sonata form. The first subject is declamatory, aside from a nugget that could become a rhythmic and melodic ostinato if Szymanowski used it more extensively. The second subject is quiet and highly lyrical, Franckian in its chromaticism, rising to an ardent climax, then drifting into more amorphous thematic material before the first melody returns to usher in the development section, which primarily focuses on the second subject. What at first seems to be the recapitulation turns out to be essentially an extension of the development, again favoring the second subject all the way to the brief, quiet coda.

Next come a pair of movements in one compact package: the Andantino tranquillo e dolce enfolds a little scherzo. The Andantino, with a substantial piano introduction, is a sweet aria for violin, the long melodic line supported by a sometimes shimmering, sometimes merely restless piano accompaniment. Again, the influence of Franck is evident, particularly in the longing and ardor of the violin's highest passages. Midway through comes a jittery Scherzando (più moto) interlude, predominantly a pizzicato section, but this very soon gives way to an elaborated version of the Andantino's main matter, more passionate now, especially in the piano part.

The finale (Allegro molto, quasi presto) follows a sonata-rondo format. There's a stern urgency to the principal theme, which could serve as a march tune in a more easygoing context. The secondary material is both outgoing and voluptuous, and again in the middle comes a scherzo episode, this one far more jagged and dangerous sounding than that in the Andantino. Various elements, melodic and rhythmic, of the principal theme dominate the remainder of the movement, which culminates in a short set of emphatic chords.

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