Mozart's last piano concerto. The work was completed on January 5, 1791, but the fact that the staves used for the initial part of the first movement are of the same quality as those used in 1788 suggests the possibility that it was commenced around the same time as the Piano Concerto "Coronation" and the three great symphonies.

In any case, during his last few years, Mozart was striving to regain his lost reputation. However, despite the success of his operas The Marriage of Figaro and Don Giovanni, and compounded by the unstable political situation in Austria, Mozart's musical career never recovered to its former state. This concerto, created under such circumstances, possesses a lightness with dotted rhythms and a bright sound, yet it also contains a certain tranquility akin to resignation.

The premiere took place on March 4 of the same year, at a concert by the clarinetist J. Bähr. This marked Mozart's final public appearance. However, there is also a theory that it had already been premiered in January by his pupil Proyer as a solo piece at one of the concerts celebrating the visit of the King and Queen of Naples to Vienna.

The composer's own cadenzas for the first and third movements of this concerto are preserved in the Collection of Cadenzas (Artaria, 1801; André, 1804). The Eingänge for the third movement are also included there, but their authenticity is questionable.

Movement 1: Allegro, B-flat major, 4/4 time. Concerto-sonata form. While the overall atmosphere is calm, frequent modulations, chromaticism, and contrapuntal passages are striking. It should be noted that in some scores (e.g., the old complete Mozart edition), the seven measures following measure 46 are missing. This is due to Mozart's oversight in not notating them in the autograph manuscript, but given his subsequent treatment, the insertion of these seven measures is undoubtedly correct.

Movement 2: Larghetto, E-flat major, 2/2 time. Ternary form. It begins with a murmuring solo piano. Throughout the movement, the piano takes on such melodies rather than brilliant passages.

Movement 3: Allegro, B-flat major, 6/8 time. Rondo form. Changing the atmosphere from the previous two movements, it begins with a light and cheerful rondo theme, but also possesses a grandeur befitting a finale, concluding resolutely with a tutti unison.