The Piano Trio in Eb was composed in the late summer of 1786 when the thirty-year-old Mozart was at the height of his fame and success in Vienna.  He was moving away from composing financially less successful piano concertos and toward the more lucrative opera compositions.  “Kegelstatt” literally means “next to the place where skittles is played.”  It was widely known that Mozart played many games and could “copy out” the music in his head to paper while doing other activities.  While the name suggests Mozart was bowling during the composition of this trio, historians believe it is more an exaggeration than truth. 

 Piano Trios were popular for composers to write from Haydn into the 20^th century, usually for piano, violin, and cello, but this is the first occurrence of this combination of instruments.  The first movement is a sweet lyrical Andante in Sonata Allegro form.  The middle movement, a minuet and trio, is delightful, following in the tradition of Haydn.  The third movement, a Rondeaux (plural for Rondo) is a double set of reoccurring themes.