Moderato cantabile – at a moderate speed, in a singing style.

A superb miniature, akin to an excellent short story, it elegantly integrates numerous diverse elements and complex materials while maintaining a refined structure. The first half (measures 1-8) is marked “molto ligato” ('very smoothly' – Beethoven wrote 'ligato' instead of 'legato') and ascends chromatically. Imagining the timbre of a string quartet, one should sustain the notes as much as possible and play so as to avoid any percussive attack upon striking the keys. Measures 9-12 have a chorale-like sound, evoking a sense of vast space. From measure 13 onwards, echoing, fragmentary melodies from the preceding piece (No. 7) appear and disappear. In the four measures from measure 17 to the end, the left hand ascends with double thirds, the right hand takes over, and the piece concludes with a gentle smile.