It was sent along with his first sonata to Breitkopf und Härtel with a letter of recommendation from Robert Schumann.
Schumann had already praised Brahms enthusiastically, and the sonata shows signs of an effort to impress, with its technical demands and highly dramatic nature.
The second movement is a theme and variations based on the German Minnesang "Mir ist leide".
The main subject of the introduction serves as the first theme of this movement, which is in sonata form and contains a repeated exposition.
The coda of the finale, marked pianissimo and to be played with the soft pedal, returns to and expands upon material from the movement's introduction.