Piano Quartet in E-flat Major 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 Dvořák for a further contribution to the 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 is unexpectedly easy, and the melodies simply flow towards me. Thanks be to God!' These words could describe the quartet itself, a work with a characteristic carefree tone and clear nationalistic colouring. The primary source for this publication was the first edition (1890).