 Although this may be one of Beethoven's early works (written in around 1792, i.e., at around age 22) it was assigned its opus number when it was published by Hoffmeister in Leipzig, more than a decade after Beethoven began writing it.Following common practice at the time, in this work Beethoven incorporated variations on popular themes from opera, notably from ' (literally translated as "The Red Cap"), a Singspiel by Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf, which had its premiere in Vienna in 1788.The opera reached Bonn in 1792, during the last months that Beethoven stayed there.