Allegro, ma non troppo (Fast, but not excessively)

This piece is in compound ternary form. It begins with wide-ranging arpeggios and continues with improvisatory, intricate motion. The main section possesses a character akin to a toccata, its appeal lying in the momentum generated by triplet motion, trills, and large leaps. The middle section, in the parallel minor of C minor, features a highly expressive melody sung by a unison in the low register, while the left hand interjects with triplet arpeggios in an even lower, lowest register. The lyrical passion and the eerie quality of something stirring beneath the earth contrast sharply with the main section. After reaching a fortissimo on a half cadence, triplet scales cascade downwards, returning to the innocent main section. The coda further strips away melodic material, specializing in pure motion, and concludes with a lighthearted, scherzo-like character.