Although Mozart is known primarily as a pianist, he was a violinist at the court of Salzburg until he walked out in 1781 to carry out an independent career in Vienna. These sonatas belong to two sets of six, one published in Paris in 1778, when Mozart first sought to leave Salzburg, the other in Vienna in 1781, right after he resigned. These pieces were meant to serve as a calling card, but Mozart went well bevond this sole intention.