The sonata was Schumann's idea as a gift and tribute to violinist Joseph Joachim, whom the three composers had recently befriended. Joachim had adopted the Romantic German phrase "Frei aber einsam" ("free but lonely") as his personal motto. The composition's movements are all based on the musical notes F-A-E, the motto's initials, as a musical cryptogram.

Date of composition 1853
Premiered 1853, October 28th in Düsseldorf, Germany
First published 1935
Type Scherzo
Catalogue WoO 2
Instruments Violin
Piano
Autotranslations beta Johannes Brahms: Scherzo from the F-A-E Sonata, WoO 2
Johannes Brahms: Scherzo from the F-A-E Sonata, WoO 2
Johannes Brahms: Scherzo from the F-A-E Sonata, WoO 2