Studies by Frisch (1983) and Dudeque (2005) have critiqued Schoenberg's concept of developing variation, but significant aspects of the theory remain unaddressed. One of the most important aspects is the question of whether developing variation is strictly a local, phrase phenomenon found in temporally continuous contexts, or also a global, form-defining function that takes shape over a succession of temporally discontinuous segments. While most studies have focused on examples of the local function in Brahms's works, developing variation can occur in both types of situations. A striking example is the first movement of the Piano Trio in C Major, Op. 87, where the process is manifest at both the syntagmatic (or combinatory) phrase level and the paradigmatic (or associative) formal level: this composition exhibits the two contrasting, but interrelated functions of developing variation within an expansive, unusually proportioned sonata form. Its distinctive use of paradigmatic developing variation contributes to its idiosyncratic dimensions; seven varied repetitions of a main thematic idea in changing formal contexts emerge with conspicuous compositional emphasis, spanning the entire sonata space and beyond it as the evolution of the idea gains prominence. This overarching process exhausts the motive's potential as the basic idea of the movement. As a result, developing variation acts as a formal determinant at both local and global levels. Such considerations suggest that the concept of developing variation entails unrealized music-analytical potential, especially in regard to form.