The origins of Brahms‘ g minor Quartet op. 25 go back to the 1850s, although the work was not finished until fall 1861. The composer held his new work in high esteem, even putting it on the program of his first public appearance in Vienna as pianist and composer one year later.

To this day it is the most popular of the three Brahms piano quartets, not least because of its dazzling final movement, a Rondo alla Zingarese.