In the last days of Mozart’s life, as his health worsened, his money problems began to prey on him. He had made a vast amount of money and had frittered it away on a fancy apartment, expensive wines and billiards. He had no grasp of the care, feeding and handling of money.
In some of his works at this time, he pulled in his horns and turned to a more conservative direction to make his music more commercial. In this quintet, he turned toward Haydn, a surefire way, he believed, to make money.
I like the way this one starts!