Kalkbrenner was a very prolific composer and published nearly 200 opus numbers, mostly dedicated to his instrument (but his catalogue also includes three operas, a Stabat Mater and the cantata Die Zwingburg). The three Piano Sonatas Op. 1 that open the list of his compositions were published around 1807, when Kalkbrenner was just twenty-two years old, and are the works with which the German composer debuted in front of his audiences. They are a very clear calling card, where credentials and promises are manifest.