As a whole, the work showcases her use of two-part counterpoint, repeated use of single-note values, and economical intensity of musical material.
The second movement features an extended climax, which utilizes repeated quarter notes and, over the course of three to four minutes, grows to a ffff dynamic.
This sonata is ever waiting upon the sweep of divine intervention yet continues dutifully, persistently in its sweetness as if not convinced it's already not too late.
It engages silence at its end, as the last statement of mystery, without wonder or expectation, its part in the spiritual equation complete.
"[2] The music also features an economical use of thematic material – mostly quarter notes in two-part counterpoint at a moderately slow tempo.
Because of its ffff clusters, musicologist Maria Cizmic explains, "It opens up a performance space in which a pianist feels pain, foregrounding the concrete bodily acts and sensations of suffering at a time when the violence of the USSR's past continued to be contested.
[8] Before the final restatement of the first theme, a series of six chords, played as softly and chorale-like as possible, provides a moment of stillness.