Piano Quartet In E Flat Op.87

Towards the end of the 19th century the piano quartet was established as a separate sophisticated chamber music genre. It is therefore not surprising that the publisher Fritz Simrock asked Dvorák for a further contribution tothe genre.

The second Piano Quartet in E-flat major op. 87 was composed in the summer of 1889 during a torrent of creativity: “My head is so full, if a human being could only write it all down straight away! […] It isunexpectedly easy and the melodies simply flow towards me. Thanks be to God!” These words could describe the quartet itself, a work with characteristic carefree tone and clear nationalistic colouring. The primary source forthispublication was the first edition (1890).