Except for the first part of the opening movement, it was written during the visit Mozart paid to Munich for the production of La finta giardiniera from December 1774 to March 1775.

The second subject focuses on rapid scales and leads to a perfect cadence in G major, ready for the development section.

This movement is based in F major, the subdominant of the whole work's tonal home and is structured in sonata form.

The work then quickly makes temporary transitions through G and D minor, in order to move back to the tonic for the recapitulation, which follows the exposition closely.

This features an unusually active part for the left hand, another extended development section, and a surprising close: Mozart rounds the sonata off with two firm chords, which he marks Coda.