Composed in 1799, this set of variations takes as its theme a quartet from Peter Winter's (1754-1825) comic opera, which premiered in Vienna in 1796. Winter was a popular composer in the genres of Singspiel and comic opera, and this work, chosen by Beethoven, was also a popular piece that was repeatedly performed.

The theme has an irregular structure of 49 measures: an 8+8+4 measure lullaby, followed by an 8+4+8 measure section that already incorporates variations, and a 9-measure codetta. Each variation adheres to this measure count, maintaining the harmonic structure while adding ornamentation, which was standard practice for variations at the time. Exceptionally, the seventh variation is accompanied by a coda and a subsequent "Allegro molto" section, making it a lengthy final variation of 176 measures.