Dvořák entered the piece in a competition and was awarded 5 ducats for the composition.
This extracted movement had been based on the central section, marked 'Andante religioso', of his String Quartet No.
4 (which was not published in his lifetime), and was in turn later reworked and republished as the Nocturne for Strings in B major, Op.
Some modern ensembles choose to restore the intermezzo when performing the work.
This article about a composition for a chamber music group is a stub.