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The first movement is in A-flat, 3/8 time and is marked andante con variazioni, a walking pace with variations. The theme is simple and stately.
At 1:53, Variation #1 breaks the theme into fragments where he plays around the theme, rather than on it, in the right hand.
At 3:15, Variation #2 uses a technique favored decades later by Schumann, where the theme is broken up in staggered 16th notes with the theme in the left hand. It has a breathless quality.
At 4:14, Variation #3 is the obligatory trip to the minor mode, where he switches to A-flat minor (7 flats!). The staggered 8th notes have a funereal air in a flash-forward to the slow movement.
At 5:49, Variation #4 plays its way around the theme in the right hand.
At 6:40, Variation #5 breaks the theme into triplets and then quadruplets as he works it between hands. He keeps the sweetness and simplicity in the theme as he wraps it up very quietly.
Having placed a rather slow movement in first position, Lou speeds it up with an allegro molto, “very fast”, scherzo that oscillates between F minor and A-flat Major.
At 9:57, his “trio” switches to D-flat and calms down with a gently rocking motion.
He repeats the opening without repetitions.
Now comes the emotional heart of the sonata, the “Funeral March for the Death of a Hero”, in 4/4 time. In many ways this is a warmup for the slow movement of his Third Symphony which came a decade later. There is no speed indication so the pianist has to pick his own funereal pace. It’s in A-flat minor, 7 flats, and that causes a lot of worry among beginners who tackle this.
At 13:37, he turns to the major (only 4 flats) for a drum rolling effect on the piano.
At 14:34, he reprises the opening and closes the crypt door quietly.
The finale is marked simply allegro in A-flat and 2/4 time, but the 16th notes move like quicksilver. This movement is in ternary format and finishes quietly..
This video is of one of my favorite Russian pianists, Emil Gilels, in a live performance.