It was premiered in Moscow on 13 November 1953 by the Beethoven Quartet, to whom it is dedicated.
[1] It consists of three movements, performed without a break: Playing time is approximately 30 minutes.
The work grows from a five-note motif, C–D–E♭–B–C♯, which contains the four pitch-classes of the composer's musical monogram: DSCH (E♭ being Es and B being H in German).
This motif appears in a number of his other compositions, including String Quartet No.
This article about a composition for a chamber music group is a stub.