The finale of Beethoven's Sonata No. 10 in G major, Op. 14, No. 2 is marked Scherzo: Allegro assai. It is a quick, playful movement in 3/8, with a recurring theme, sharply separated answers, and episodes of continuous sixteenth notes. Much of its humor comes from the way melodic gestures stretch across bar lines while accents, rests, and sudden changes of register keep disturbing the listener's sense of where a phrase will land.

The opening begins with a short pickup in the right hand. Its rising figure develops into a lightly slurred melody, with the left hand entering only at selected points. Small falling figures and detached high notes answer one another. The texture becomes more active as short scales pass between the hands, then a pause briefly interrupts the motion before the theme continues. Strong chords punctuate the following passage, where quick right-hand figures alternate with rests.

The opening material returns before a more sustained episode. Around measure 70, a melody marked dolce appears above a running left-hand accompaniment. The right hand moves in longer notes while the left hand supplies nearly continuous sixteenths. Accents and chromatic changes gradually make this passage more insistent. The moving line later shifts between the hands, creating a different balance even when the underlying rhythmic energy remains steady.

After further fragments of the theme, a rest and a held pause prepare another recognizable return. The familiar rising idea reappears with its contrasting detached responses. In the later pages, the hands trade short figures across different registers, and a quieter statement leads into a longer stretch of repeated broken-chord patterns. The right hand first supplies the quick accompaniment beneath a lower melody; later, the left hand takes over the rapid motion while the melody sits above it.

On the final page, the opening idea returns over the running accompaniment. The music retains its forward motion through several accented upper notes, then gradually softens. The last small gestures descend into the bass, and rests complete the understated ending. The finale closes with a brief, quiet response after all its busy exchanges.

Interesting fact: Beethoven places the word “Scherzo” at the head of the sonata's final movement. Here the recurring theme and contrasting episodes give the playful music a larger span than a short dance alone.