Second Movement: E major, 2/4 time, "Nicht zu geschwind und sehr singbar vorgetragen" (Not too fast and very singable)

Rondo-sonata form, where the first couplet in the dominant key is recapitulated in the tonic. The four-bar structure is so dominant that the movement as a whole might feel uniform. Furthermore, the contrast between the various sections is not strong. From these points, one might feel that its simplicity is exaggerated compared to the passionate and varied first movement, but it is by no means superficial.

The rondo theme is, as indicated by the performance instruction, a song-like melody, consisting of 32 measures in an ABBA structure (8 measures each). In contrast to the theme of the first movement, it is characterized by a clear tonic key, with every phrase ending on the tonic chord. However, even to this seemingly unassuming theme, Beethoven added a clever touch from its very beginning. If one juxtaposes the final measure of the first movement with the opening measure of the second movement, a splendid symmetry emerges: after the melody descends and concludes on the E minor tonic chord in the previous movement, the second movement ascends from the same note, sounding an E major chord.

It is also unusual for a Beethoven sonata that the lengthy rondo theme is recapitulated without abbreviation. Furthermore, since the theme itself is characterized by melodic repetition, this compositional method could potentially lead to monotony. However, even without Czerny's admonition to vary the nuance of the theme each time, Beethoven introduces variations in register and other elements when phrases are repeated within the theme, and in the fourth recapitulation of the theme within the movement, he alternates the melody between upper and lower voices, thereby avoiding excessive simplicity.

The first couplet (from m. 40, recapitulation from m. 181) is, like the rondo theme, lyrical, with a narrow melodic range within phrases, and lacks a turbulent character. However, a never-settling momentum is maintained by the inner voice's embellishing figures. The second couplet (from m. 105), beginning in E minor, contrasts with the first couplet in its significantly expanded and contracted overall melodic intervals, as well as its characteristic modulations and rich dynamic changes. While very short when viewed as a development section, it is reasonable to consider that the sonata form's archetype is consciously employed in this dynamism.

After the recapitulation, from the middle of section B in the final theme statement, the melody deviates from its initial progression, shifting to motivic repetition and leading directly into the coda. After some motivic development, the rondo theme briefly appears, but the melody is immediately fragmented into short motives. Just when it seems the movement will quietly conclude with a diminuendo and ritardando, leading to a decay in dynamics and tempo, an accelerando and crescendo occur, abruptly shifting to a tempo, p, and pp in the final measure. Regarding this abrupt ending, which contrasts sharply with the gentle, pastoral music, some interpretations see it as a Romantic irony where beauty is an illusion, and one is pulled back from reverie to reality.

In any case, while this work appears superficially straightforward due to the regularity characterizing the whole, and its overall typical Classical formal structure and lyrical melodies, it contains aspects that demand interpretation from the listener, such as harmonic ambiguities, inter-sectional relationships, a high degree of lyricism for an instrumental sonata, connections between the two movements' forms, and the gesture at the end of the movement.