Although the autograph manuscripts are lost, according to catalogs created by the composer's friends J. W. Witteczek and J. Spaun after his death, both were composed in November 1817 (published in 1871) and can be regarded as a continuous musical work, "No. 1" and "No. 2." It may seem surprising that only two "Scherzos" were written independently, but 1817 was a notable year in which various experiments were attempted in piano music. Autograph manuscripts often lacked unity, and there are instances where movements that should have belonged to a sonata were written consecutively in autograph manuscripts of other genres (such as Lieder or string quartets). Currently, the practice of considering multiple movements written in different fascicles of music as belonging to a single sonata has become established (e.g., D 570, D 571, D 604). Indeed, Schubert himself used the trio of the second of these "Two Scherzos" in a slightly different form for the trio of the third movement of a sonata (D 568) written in January of the same year. In short, the various movements written fragmentarily in this year are akin to pages from an "idea book," and although they lack the coherence of unified works, they are also a treasure trove of ambitious and experimental sounds from Schubert's middle period.

No. 1 (B-flat major / E-flat major)

It is in a three-part form consisting of a medium-sized main section and a trio, comparable to the third movement of a sonata. While its metrical and tonal structures are clear and rather conventional for the experiments of this period, there are also measures that point to the future. For example, from measure 45 onwards, where the bass voice is silent and a triplet figure without a root note revolves, aims to suspend the sense of tonality. In Schubert's later works, such sonorities leading to sudden shifts up a minor second became common. In the latter half of the trio, the bass voice, reaching down to the lowest note (F) of pianos of that time, asserts its presence.

No. 2 (D-flat major / A-flat major)

It has a similar structure to No. 1, but particularly in three aspects, a more varied expression is intended than in No. 1:

• First, the much greater dynamic contrasts.
• Second, the free movement across different registers of the keyboard.
• Finally (a tendency frequently seen even in his earliest instrumental works), the deviation from four-measure phrase units, often employing five-measure units.

Furthermore, the unusual choice of D-flat major as the main key for its time can be explained by Schubert's pursuit of new sonorities in the piano sonatas of 1817, which frequently used keys with many accidentals. Similarly, the frequent excursions to the distant key of E major are also noteworthy.