Tchaikovsky started work on the quartet in August 1865 at his brother-in-law's house in Kamenka, basing the first movement theme on a song he heard the gardeners singing.
[1][2][3] This theme was later recycled for the 1867 solo piano piece Scherzo à la russe Op.1, No.
[1] The completed movement was premiered on 11 November 1865 at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory by a quartet composed of both faculty members and students (Konstantin Pushilov, Dmitry Panov, Vasily Bessel and Aleksandr Kuznetsov).
[4][1] There has been much speculation as to why the work was apparently abandoned after the completion of the first movement, despite the comments by Modest Tchaikovsky mentioned earlier.
[4] The composition consists of a single movement, marked Adagio misterioso – Allegro con moto, and typically lasts 12 or 13 minutes in performance.