Mozart composed the work during his travels to Mannheim and Paris in 1777-78. In a letter to his father Leopold on October 24, 1777, he mentioned performing "a magnificent sonata in C major with a closing rondo, my own invention," indicating the sonata was finished by then. Leopold Mozart, upon reviewing the manuscript, described it as "a strange composition" with a hint of the "rather artificial" Mannheim style, but noted it retained Mozart's distinctive good style.