The piece had its first performance on July 10, 1876, at the conservatory with Mahler at the piano,[2] but it is unclear from surviving documentation whether the quartet was complete at this time.
[5] Four years later it was performed in the United Kingdom on June 1, 1968, at the Purcell Room, London, by the Nemet Ensemble.
He not only realized the scherzo, but added two movements of his own in the style of Mahler to give the work a satisfying structure.
[8] The Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra (RPhO) commissioned an orchestration of the quartet from the Dutch pianist and composer Marlijn Helder.
[9][10] The Quartet forms part of the soundtrack in Martin Scorsese's 2010 motion picture Shutter Island[11] and is the subject of a short discussion between the movie's characters.