The complete set of six quartets was commissioned by and dedicated to the Bohemian aristocrat Joseph Franz von Lobkowitz.

[1] According to Carl Amenda [de], Beethoven's friend, the second movement was inspired by the crypt scene[2] from William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.

The quartet was heavily revised between the version that Amenda first received, and that was dedicated to him, and the one that was sent to the publisher a year later, including changing the second movement's marking from Adagio molto to the more specific Adagio affettuoso ed appassionato.

[4] This early version of one of Beethoven's best-known works has been recorded perhaps fewer than a half-dozen times as of July 2014.

[5] The second movement of the Juilliard String Quartet's recording is used in the soundtrack to the 2015 film The Lobster.