This is an initial and rarely heard version of a work that Prokofiev heavily revised and reissued in 1953 as his Op. 135 sonata. Although in the early 1920s Prokofiev was deeply involved in Western avant-garde trends and was becoming notorious for rough, aggressive orchestral scores, the early version of this sonata is a comparatively simple C major affair, in the charming manner of his earlier Classical Symphony. In the words of pianist Barbara Nissman, "The two versions can be viewed as stylistically different works from separate periods: Op. 38 is a Classical work; Op. 38/135 is a Romantic paraphrase of the Classical work."

The first movement, Allegro tranquillo, is in sonata-allegro form, with the first theme being a beguiling, almost childlike tune, and the second more urgent and dissonant (Prokofiev toned the dissonace down in the revision). The two themes are developed with the second subject at the forefront, then are separated out in a traditional recapitulation and a coda based primarily on the first theme.

The second movement, Andantino, again a bit more dissonant in this original version, takes an ABA format with the themes not really distinct from each other except for the first's reliance on quick, mocking arpeggios. The last movement, Un poco allegretto, takes up sonata form again. Both its themes are quite busy but not motoric; the first is an angular affair that juts out of an initial series of repeated notes, and the second is equally restless but smoother.

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