The ten pieces in the so-called Viennese Sketchbook were composed and repeatedly revised at different times between the years 1975 and 1991. Although all of these works openly pay tribute to Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, and Schubert, Ford's treatment of traditional materials remains strikingly original, without a hint of academic constraint or self-conscious imitation.
The sprightly, Haydnesque Rondo in C Major was originally the finale to Ford's four-movement Sonata in C Minor ("Werther"). Eventually he felt that a minor-key movement was necessary to counterbalance the weighty first movement, thus detaching the present rondo and dubbing it an independent concert piece. The "circular" form of the rondo is clearly suggestive of the ring-like urban plan of the city of Vienna.