In common with his cycle of five violin concertos, it is most probable that Mozart (who was himself an accomplished violinist) wrote the Rondo in C major, K. 373, for the leader of the Archiepiscopal Court Orchestra in Salzburg, the celebrated Italian virtuoso Antonio Brunetti. Although the precise circumstances surrounding the composition of the work remain a matter of conjecture, it is highly likely that the Rondo came into being after problems were encountered with a concerto by another unknown composer, which was due to be played at the Court by Brunetti. Its final movement was found either to be musically lacking, or possibly missing entirely, and so Mozart wrote this charming piece as a replacement for its original finale, thus enabling the performance to go ahead.

The Rondo is, however, a rather later creation than the five violin concertos which preceded it, all of which were written before Mozart's 20th birthday. The K. 373 Rondo for violin solo and orchestra is known to have been composed during April 1781—this at least can be established conclusively from the handwritten annotation on the cover page of the manuscript. It is a compact and entirely unpretentious creation, lasting just over six minutes in all. Cast in conventional Classical Rondo form, the work's predictable structure revolves around a highly expressive central episode in the minor mode. As Mozart specialist Misha Donat has observed, "the melody floats above an accompaniment of pizzicato violins and murmuring violas; and the piece ends in a spirit of smiling understatement, with the simplest of cadences quietly played by the soloist and wind instruments alone."

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