The third movement is in A♭ major, 3/4, a slow movement only 26 measures in length. It follows a three-part A–B–A′ design. At the end there is a transition that leads directly into the fourth movement, and—just like the previous movements—it proceeds attacca into the next.
A
It begins in A♭ major. For the opening four measures the left hand sustains an A♭ pedal in the bass, repeating unceasingly in eighth notes—a hallmark of this movement. From start to finish, eighth-note motion appears continuously in an outer or inner voice, creating rhythmic unity.
Over the repeated bass the right hand carries the melody. Befitting a slow movement, sixteenth- and thirty-second-note values are frequent, and the texture often expands to four parts.
From m. 5 the bass changes: a V7 appears while the right hand states the melody in octaves. At m. 8 there is a half cadence on V7.
B
From m. 9 the music moves to B. The chief surface feature here is syncopation. The syncopated entry that had begun after an eighth rest and continued in quarter notes is subdivided from m. 13, now resting a sixteenth and continuing in eighths. In the left hand the same repeated-note eighths persist; from m. 13 staccato marks are added, sharpening its profile.
Tonally the music does not settle in one place but keeps flowing. For eight measures there is no clear V–I progression; the constant use of accidentals produces a deliberately ambiguous effect. At mm. 16–17 a V7–I in A♭ major confirms the return to the tonic and ushers in A′.
A′
A′ proceeds much like A. The figure that enters at the fifth measure of the subsection now appears an octave higher than in A. At mm. 23–24 there is a perfect authentic cadence (V7–I).
After this, a 2.5-measure link functions as a transition to the fourth movement, and the work proceeds attacca into Mvt. IV.
The third movement is in A♭ major, 3/4, a slow movement only 26 measures in length. It follows a three-part A–B–A′ design. At the end there is a transition that leads directly into the fourth movement, and—just like the previous movements—it proceeds attacca into the next.
A
It begins in A♭ major. For the opening four measures the left hand sustains an A♭ pedal in the bass, repeating unceasingly in eighth notes—a hallmark of this movement. From start to finish, eighth-note motion appears continuously in an outer or inner voice, creating rhythmic unity.
Over the repeated bass the right hand carries the melody. Befitting a slow movement, sixteenth- and thirty-second-note values are frequent, and the texture often expands to four parts.
From m. 5 the bass changes: a V7 appears while the right hand states the melody in octaves. At m. 8 there is a half cadence on V7.
B
From m. 9 the music moves to B. The chief surface feature here is syncopation. The syncopated entry that had begun after an eighth rest and continued in quarter notes is subdivided from m. 13, now resting a sixteenth and continuing in eighths. In the left hand the same repeated-note eighths persist; from m. 13 staccato marks are added, sharpening its profile.
Tonally the music does not settle in one place but keeps flowing. For eight measures there is no clear V–I progression; the constant use of accidentals produces a deliberately ambiguous effect. At mm. 16–17 a V7–I in A♭ major confirms the return to the tonic and ushers in A′.
A′
A′ proceeds much like A. The figure that enters at the fifth measure of the subsection now appears an octave higher than in A. At mm. 23–24 there is a perfect authentic cadence (V7–I).
After this, a 2.5-measure link functions as a transition to the fourth movement, and the work proceeds attacca into Mvt. IV.