Pierre Duport's cello sonata, Op. 4/6, was quite popular in the late eighteenth century—at least it was with Friedrich Wilhelm II, the King of Prussia, for whom Mozart may have written this set of variations on one of its themes. The theme, taken from the minuet of Duport's sonata, is unimpressive on its own, but Mozart manages to wring a charming set of variations from it. It is the last of Mozart's 15 sets of variations for keyboard, and has become the most popular.

The first two variations maintain the theme's lively mood, the second exhibiting much scale-like writing, the melody heard in cascades of running notes. The theme appears in muscular but playful chords in the next variation and with lively accompaniment. With the fourth variation, the mood relaxes just a bit, but the pacing remains fast, the manner playful—and playful describes the mischievous fifth variant, as well. The sixth is dreamy in its slower tempo and mostly upper register writing. Things turn lively and playful again in the ensuing variant, but slower once more and also reflective in the eighth. The last variation is driven and full of brilliant colors and dazzling writing. This charming masterwork closes with a brief restatement of the minuet theme.

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