The piece is seldom referenced outside of the clarinet world, and apparently holds no special place among the composer's prolific output. The six symphonies and other large-scale orchestral, operatic, and choral works such as Gilgamesh are the works for which Martinu received the most accolades and lasting recognition. The Sonatina demonstrates a solid understanding of the clarinet's abilities and strengths. Extensive use of trill figures and fast arpeggios add excitement and bravura without presenting insurmountable technical challenges. In the lyrical passages, the Sonatina maintains its forward momentum through the use of dance-like rhythms and pointed articulations.
Syncopation plays an important role throughout.
From the very beginning, with the opening piano introduction, the beat is obscured through a combination of hemiola, off beat rhythms, and decidedly un-square articulations. Even some of the most important cadences are syncopated, which, in several places, gives the illusion that the clarinet has arrived at the top of a scale slightly early. The piece is written as one continuous movement made up of contrasting sections. In the Sonatina, as indeed in much of the composer's output, Martinu eschewed standard musical forms. This was a feature of his music early on, which is largely what got him into trouble with his professors while a student at the Prague Conservatory.