The origins of the ensemble lie in the Stross Quartet, whose tradition was continued after the death of Wilhelm Stross in 1966 by the former ensemble members Josef Märkl and Rudolf Metzmacher, a cello professor.
In addition to performances in the Federal Republic of Germany, the Märkl Quartet has undertaken concert tours to Austria, Belgium and Israel as well as to the US and Spain.
On the occasion of the festivities for the 1976 bicentennial of the United States Declaration of Independence, the quartet played in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
45/2 (dedicated to Alfred Cortot) by Wilhelm Kempff as well as the Variations on the Brazilian National Anthem by David Korenschendler for the premiere.
In his documentation for Kempff's string quartets in 1968 and for Korenschendler's Variations in 1985, Stegmüller cites the years of the premieres (Quellenkataloge zur Musikgeschichte.