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).