The Quintet in E-flat major for piano, oboe, clarinet, horn and bassoon (K.452) was composed for the concerts Mozart gave in Vienna during the 1784 Lenten season. It occupies a special position in his oeuvre: although it is the only work of this sort he would ever complete, the Quintet became the locus classicus for both Mozart and his successors in the field of chamber music with piano and two or more instruments. With this piece, he elevated the entire genre to a new level of artistry.
Mozart himself held K.452 in extraordinarily high esteem. This is apparent in a letter he wrote to his father Leopold on 10 April 1784: "I composed two grand concertos and then a quintet, which called forth the very greatest applause; I myself consider it to be the best work I have ever written." The present edition is based as closely as possible on the autograph score, preserved in the Bibliothèque du Conservatoire, Paris. Secondary sources were available for purposes of comparison.