Although some contemporary composers found much of interest in Bax's works, the general public was never enthusiastic about his music. This is especially true of the piano works, which Harriet Cohen championed during her career. Perhaps the most neglected of these pieces is the Piano Sonata No. 4, in G major, composed by Bax in 1932. Among musicians, it is the least respected of Bax's piano sonatas, possibly because of the seemingly anomalous outer movements.

Bax's Fourth Piano Sonata was first performed on February 1, 1934, by Harriet Cohen in Town Hall, New York. On May 18, 1934, Cohen performed the piece in London's Wigmore Hall. Murdoch published the piece in London in 1934 with at dedication to Charles Lynch.

Bax's Fourth Piano Sonata is in three movements, each about five minutes long. Of the three, the second, slower movement, marked "very delicate throughout," is the most typical of Bax's previous works. Modal melodies create a Celtic flavor we find less often in Bax's later pieces and the main theme, although original, resembles that of the Irish song, "Has sorrow thy young days shaded?" The Lydian mode, with its raised fourth scale degree, has a strong presence here and also informs the first and third movements. A droning, pedal G sharp that provides the foundation for much of the movement contributes to the archaic atmosphere and its syncopation generates forward motion. In sonata form, the movement stresses its modal characteristics in its ponderous development section. The movement is one of Bax's best for piano and was reported to have been one of the composer's favorites.

The first and third movements are marked by an almost Classical-era economy and clarity of texture. Themes are concise, tending not to wander off into continuous transformation, and delineating clear sonata-form structures. Without an introduction, the main theme opens with a rising motive from the lower register. Bax's exposition of his primary theme extends over only 38 measures (brief by Bax's standards) before the entrance of the secondary theme on the dominant (D major). The rising figure of the first theme returns numerous times, however, and after a slow repeat of the second theme, the figure introduces the development section. Thus far, the procedures are very like those of many Classical-era sonata-form movements. The percussive climax of the first movement brings together elements of the first and secondary themes, while the brief recapitulation performs the expected resolution before giving way to the coda.

Opening with an Allegro tempo, Bax's finale begins with a fanfare figure. Concision reigns here, as in the first movement, but the music is more aggressive and harsh. Ideas from the first movement grow in importance, but lighter new material, marked Allegro maestoso, wins out and fanfare figure closes the movement, and the sonata, in G major.

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