J.C. Bach hovers over the first movement of this Salzburg symphony, which dates from May 1772. His influence is not heard quite so much in the early passages of the Allegro, which have an expectant, festive theatricality that could serve well in an opera overture, but the London Bach is evident in a unison theme that complicates the transition from the opening tonic section to the dominant; this motif is suspiciously similar to a theme from a Sinfonia in B flat by the older composer. Otherwise, the movement proceeds without any surprises; the two main motifs, one fast and "masculine," the second softer and "feminine," once introduced are subjected to a concise, 21-bar development, and then recapitulated with a coda not significantly different from the end of the exposition.

The second of the three movements, an Andante, switches to a contented C major, with the strings introducing a hummable tune that falls into several separate little phrases with nothing but the softly panting accompaniment to provide continuity. Contrasting material comes in the middle, with a bit of imitative part-writing suggesting that Mozart is about to try something deliberately academic compared to the simple song-like material that has come before. But almost immediately, Mozart abandons this and plays again with the opening material in keys that systematically work their way back to C major.

The final Allegro shoots off with a unison hunting call, although the horns play only a subsidiary role here, the strings taking the bulk of the thematic work. Generally, the hunting theme is answered by flurries of virtuosic string figuration; Mozart soon eases away from this to introduce a slightly more subdued second theme. It's the hunting tune, though, that dominates the development section (Mozart employs sonata form here rather than a rondo). Both themes reappear as expected in the recapitulation, and the entire (small) orchestra joins in unison for the final, definitively curtain-dropping phrase.

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