Béla Bartók's piano sonata, along with three other piano works, were written in 1926, during a period when he was trying to change his career weighting from folk song collection and teaching to composing and performing his own works. However, this piano sonata was considered unsuitable for a recital, even by the composer himself, because of its primitive way of striking touches and clashed resonances. In addition, its unconventional sonata form and musical idiom also create a communication barrier between the performer and audience.

In this thesis, various published analyses are compared and László Somfai's view points are borrowed for further insights of the characteristics of Bartók's late-period works. Bartók's ideas of utilizing golden ratio and arch structure in the sonata form are also discussed. Moreover, I will employ Ernő Lendvai's "Axis System" theory to investigate the motivic development and tonal structure of this sonata, in order to explore more novel and convincing performance.