String Quintet No. 2 (Dvořák) String Quintet No. 2 (Dvořák) Antonín Dvořák's String Quintet No. 2 in G major, Op. 77 (B. 49), was originally composed in early March 1875 and first performed on March 18, 1876 in Prague at the concert of the "Umělecká beseda". It is scored for two violins, viola, cello, and double bass. First marked as Op. 18, it was later slightly revised in 1888 as Op. 77. It has since been assigned the Burghauser number B. 49. Dvořák entered the piece in a competition and was awarded 5 ducats for the composition. The work bears the competition's motto, "To my
String Quintet (Schubert) with Kurt Reher on second cello (a 1994 CD reissue of this performance was awarded a Gramophone Award). Among modern recordings, that featuring the Melos Quartet with Mstislav Rostropovich (1977) has been acclaimed, and is notable for the exceptionally slow tempo adopted for the Adagio. Rostropovich later recorded the quintet with the Emerson String Quartet (12/1990) on the occasion of the gala concert celebrating the 125th anniversary of the BASF AG, Ludwigshafen. A few recordings of the quintet performed on period instruments exist, including a 1990 recording on the Vivarte label with the following lineup: Vera Beths and Lisa Rautenberg,