(Third Movement)

G major, 3/8 time, Scherzo (Rondo)

Despite the fast tempo of Allegro assai, the 3/8 time signature, and the designation 'Scherzo,' the movement is formally a rondo.

The rondo theme consists of a succession of motives ascending sequentially by a third. The second theme (from m. 23) appears in the parallel minor, E minor, and possesses a contrasting character with its forte chords and piano sixteenth-note triplets. After the return of the rondo theme, a new C major theme introduces the central section (from m. 73).

The rondo theme returns again (from m. 139), and this time, its material is treated developmentally to form the coda (from m. 175).

Beethoven would later expand the coda in sonata form movements into a 'second development section' (attempts to expand the coda in sonata form movements can already be seen in the first movement of the C major Sonata, Op. 2, No. 3). It does not seem at all inappropriate to recognize the later Beethoven in this technique of expanding the rondo's coda through the developmental treatment of motives.