In 1788, Mozart set about transcribing for string quintet his Serenade for Winds in C minor, K. 388/384a, of 1782-1783. Lost in translation are some of the subtle shades of contrast in timbre. Imbued with an intensity that belies its purpose of social entertainment, the Serenade features a driving intensity fueled by chromaticism and irregular phrase structures that make it a more personal work than most of Mozart's occasional pieces. Thus, Mozart's transference of the piece to the more "serious" chamber music idiom of the string quintet seems quite natural. Unlike the transcription of the B flat major Serenade, K. 361/370a, that of the C minor Serenade is generally ranked with the original string quintets.

A spirited Allegro opens the Quintet with a unison statement of the main theme. Sudden and drastic dynamic contrasts characterize the exposition. After a brief development, the recapitulation begins like the exposition, but the secondary themes are varied.

In E flat major, the Andante second movement juxtaposes passages in which all the instruments move equally with those in which the first violin is clearly the leader. Moments of technical display, however, appear in each part. A figure of three repeated notes unifies the monothematic structure.

The Menuetto in Canone returns to C minor. The Haydnesque canon referred to in the title occurs between the first violin and the cello and is strict through nearly the entire first part of the Menuetto. There are several canonic passages in the second half, one of them in three voices, but nothing lengthy until the return of the first theme at the end. The C major Trio al Rovescio (Trio in inversion) boasts a double canon in inversion. The second violin takes the lead and is followed by the first violin, inverting the same tune and beginning a fourth higher. The first viola then enters at a fourth below the second violin and the cello enters a fourth below the viola, the theme inverted. Almost immediately after the cello begins, the canons fall apart and the phrase closes on G major. The second half of the Trio follows a similar process, but with two different tunes, one the subject of an inverted canon between the violins and the other a canon in inversion between the first viola and cello.

In variation form, the closing Allegro contains a passage of great instrumental ingenuity that seems more suited to the string quintet format than that of a small wind band. Early on, Mozart abandons the details of the theme, preferring instead to refer to its shape and harmonic progression. One consistent element throughout the variations are the leaps of a fourth and third that open each half of the two-part theme. The variation that most nearly replicates the theme is the very last, closing the work in C major.

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