Scherzo: Allegro vivace con delicatezza, B-flat major, 3/4 time

The movement adopts a compound ternary form typical of a scherzo, consisting of a main section (ABA'), a trio section (CDC'), and a da capo return of the main section. In the main section, while the outer A sections are compact in scale, the B section is expanded into two parts.

In the A section of the main part, an 8-bar theme is presented twice. The first time, it is presented in the high register, remaining in the tonic key of B-flat major. The second time, both hands exchange roles, and it modulates to the dominant key of E-flat major. The B section first inherits the texture of the A section and undergoes repeated modulations. Through sequences, it moves from E-flat major to A-flat major and D-flat major. At measure 33, the eighth-note accompaniment figure breaks off, and a new section begins. Here, too, modulation is a primary aim; after deviating to G-flat major, it proceeds through a modulation to F-sharp minor, finally arriving at A major. At measure 67, at the end of the B section, the texture from the beginning of the piece returns, connected by a slur to the end of the B section, and the main part recurs (measure 69). This demonstrates an ingenuity that, while broadly adopting an ABA' ternary form, prevents the entry of the recapitulation from sounding like a mere return. In the A' section, as in the A section, the 8-bar theme is played twice with voice exchange, but the recapitulation concludes in B-flat major.

The trio section is in the parallel key of B-flat minor. The sense of meter, which avoids emphasizing the strong beat of the first measure and instead emphasizes the beginning of the second measure, reveals Schubert's vivacity. The 10-bar C section modulates from B-flat minor to D-flat major, and the D section begins with a G-flat major first inversion, leading to a half cadence in B-flat minor (measure 18). This is followed by the C' section, which appears an octave higher than the beginning with a varied melody, closing the trio section in B-flat minor. Thus, even in the small-scale trio section, creative devices are evident to prevent the recapitulation from being a mere repetition.