The title page bore a dedication to Theresia von Trattner (1758–1793), who was one of Mozart's pupils in Vienna.

The piano sonata was composed during the approximately 10-year period of Mozart's life as a freelance artist in Vienna after he removed himself from the patronage of the Archbishop of Salzburg in 1781.

It is one of the earliest of only six sonatas composed during the Vienna years, and was probably written either as a teaching tool or for personal use.

[2] Sonatas during this time were generally written for the domestic sphere – as opposed to a symphony or concerto, they were designed to convey ideas in a small, intimate setting.

The principal subject of this movement is seven bars long, consisting mainly of bass broken chord accompaniment and a melody.

Two more bars modulate back to E♭ major, where the original melody returns, embellished with decorations and ornaments to the maximum possible.

[2] The styles of both Muzio Clementi and C. P. E. Bach have been suggested to have influenced the composition of the fantasy, whether consciously or subconsciously.

Mozart was extremely deliberate in choosing tonalities for his compositions; therefore, his choice of C minor for this sonata implies that this piece was perhaps a very personal work.

He emerged with findings concerning the time of composition between the movements of the sonata and the fantasy, which were published in The Journal of Musicology in 1992.

First, his findings further confirmed that the Fantasy and Sonata were written independently due to differences of stave spans, paper-types, and even ink color in between the two manuscripts.

Surpassing all the others by reason of the fire and passion which, to its last note, breathe through it, it foreshadows the pianoforte sonata, as it was destined to become in the hands of Beethoven.

"[4] John Gillespie, Professor of Music at the University of California, describes the Piano Sonata No.

14 as a uniquely "somber and passionate" work of Mozart's, and states that "no other music composed before Beethoven contains so many Beethovenian elements," namely the "contrast of themes and the sense of ceaseless struggle.

8 in C minor, "Pathétique" (which it predates by roughly fifteen years), and both works share a similar overall structure.