Antonin Dvorak composed the quartet in the summer of 1893 during his summer vacation in Spillviale, Iowa. From 1892-1895, Dvorak served as the director of the National Conservatory of Music in New York City. He had been interested in "American Music" and felt that Native-American and African-American music can inspire an "American Music" distinct from European influences. He was inspired by (Henry Thacker) Harry Burleigh, his student in New York, and one of the first African-American composers. A work in the key of F Major, it lends itself easily to wind transcription.