Mozart cultivated the string quintet especially during his late Vienna years; it appears that Mozart intended their publication from the beginning, although three of them—KV 406, KV 593 and KV 614—appeared in print only shortly after his death. As with other composers in Southern Germany and Austria, Mozart’s string quintets, starting with KV 174 (his only contribution to the genre from the Salzburg years), are scored for 2 violins, 2 violas, and violoncello. Mozart’s Viennese string quartets are invariably in four movements, with a minuet and trio as the third (or occasionally the second) movement.

The two quintets with strings and one woodwind were composed for specific virtuosos. KV 581, the so-called “Stadler Quintet”, with clarinet, is similar to the string quintets, while KV 407, written for the horn player Joseph Leitgeb, has only three movements and also shows characteristics of a concerto.