Composed in Vienna in 1786, this towering trio was one of a number of pieces written for the Jacquin “circle”, members of the Jacquin family who were friends with the Mozarts during the latter portion of the composer’s life. Most of these works involve clarinets in some way; this also exploits the piano, supposedly one of the great talents of Franziska Jacquin. Indeed the three instruments in this trio represent Mozart’s favourite chamber instruments from the keyboard, wind and string families, which goes some way to explaining the majesty of the composition. The nickname (literally, “bowling alley”) is taken from the work’s alleged origin during a game of skittles.