Although it was intended to replace the scherzo of the String Quintet, that piece was instead performed in its original form; the Intermezzo was not publicly premiered until after the composer's death.

[10] The Intermezzo, which became an independent work scored for string quintet,[6][9] was premiered on 23 January 1904 in Vienna by the Fitzner Quartet during a concert of the Wiener Akademischer Wagner-Verein.

Einige Figuren sind dem Scherzo entnommen, es finden sich auch Parallelen zum Trio der 'Dritten Symphonie'.

[15]Although, as reviewer Wayne Reisig remarks, Bruckner "never wrote anything which could be termed 'pops' beyond the Austrian-German border", the Intermezzo might be considered in that genre: it is a "sunny little work saturated with the feel of the Tyrol".

[2] Critic James Reel for the Arizona Daily Star described it as a "sometimes swaggering, sometimes hesitating minuet" that is reminiscent of Bruckner's orchestral writing.