Johann Baptist Vanhal or Jan Krtitel Vanhal was born in Nove Nechanice, a small town currently part of the Czech Republic, on May 12, 1739. Thanks to his musical talent, the eighteen-year-old Jan obtained his first position of some importance as an organist. He settled in Vienna in 1761, where he perfected his skills with Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf, becoming in turn an excellent teacher. In a short time his fame as a composer, especially of symphonies and string quartets, expanded beyond the imperial borders and the Austro-German world: his compositions were performed and appreciated not only in Europe but also in the United States of America. His oeuvre is immense, including some sixty Masses, a hundred symphonies and as many quartets. Haydn and Mozart performed his compositions on many occasions and Schubert held him in high regard, considering him among the best composers of his time. He died in Vienna in 1813. The three Clarinet Sonatas and the six Sonatinas are written in the Stile Galante, formalistic, charming and melodious, but still speaking of a great originality and inventiveness, fruit of the extraordinary talent of their composer.