If it is true that the pieces were written as Tafelmusik for the Archbishop of Salzburg, then there must have been specific and regularly recurring events every winter and summer accounting for this pattern; so far, though, none have been found.
This two-fold occurrence of adjacent keys in the circle of fifths suitable for wind instruments may have been conceived with something of a pedagogical intention, most likely by Leopold Mozart.
After Mozart’s death, Nissen changed the numbering fixed by Leopold and placed one of the divertimenti for ten winds, K 166/159d, in front of the sextets.
Apparently, Johann Anton André was not misled by this and he published a very carefully prepared set of parts in the original order in 1801.
Taking into account the restricted technical capabilities of the wind instruments featured here, these divertimenti can stand comparison with the Italian string quartets from the point of view of both compositional technique and richness of invention.
The slightly gauche effects of K 186/159b and 166/159d, in which writing in thirds or sixths prevails, have been replaced in these five sextets by a greater mastery of the material which shows itself mainly in the considerably more developed independence of the six voices.
The Allegro finale is in sonata form and more rhythmic than melodic, save for the gentle C minor second subject first presented by the first oboe and then repeated, an octave lower, by the first bassoon.
[2] The work consists of the following four movements: The third divertimento in the series sets itself apart from the other four by opening with a lazy Andante in 6/8 time with an unusual number of dynamic marks.
Polonaises rarely occur in Mozart's music (an exception is a movement in the fifth divertimento of K 439b, for three basset horns); in K 252/240a the dance has an unusual swagger and a very brief coda.
The brilliant Presto assai is based on the Austria tune Die Katze lasst das Mausen nicht.
The Andantino is a gavotte with a tiny but delightful three-beat canonic episode between first oboe and second bassoon at the beginning; the coda features four bars of Alberti-bass accompaniment for the first horn bringing the latter to prominence.
Based on its structure, however, it is highly unlikely that it was actually composed by Mozart: the decidedly obsolete writing seen from the many consecutive fifths and octaves, sometimes involving even the outer parts, the constant motion in parallel thirds and comparative lack of fantasy in the use of the horns, speaks against the authenticity of the piece.