Dvorák's String Quintet in G major was originally planned as a five-movement work for string quartet plus bass, with the order of movements being Allegro con fuoco, Intermezzo, Scherzo, Poco Andante, and Finale. All the movements except the Intermezzo were composed in 1875; the Intermezzo was a re-composed and re-scored version of the slow movement of his unpublished String Quartet in E minor from 1870. In 1883, however, Dvorák removed the Intermezzo from the quintet, re-composed and re-scored it again, and published it separately as his Nocturne for string orchestra. The four-movement version of the quintet was published in 1888 as Dvorák's Op. 77, although a more accurate chronological listing would be Op. 18. The quintet itself is a wonderful example of Dvorák's first maturity as a composer, that is, the period after he had taught himself how to compose and after he had rejected his youthful enthusiasm for Wagner, the period in which Dvorák became Dvorák. The work is cast in classical Viennese forms like Dvorák's models Mozart and Schubert, with the opening movement set in sonata form, the slow movements in ternary form, the Scherzo having a central trio, and the closing movement in rondo form. But Dvorák was also at the height of his first enthusiasm for Bohemian music, and each of the movements is indelibly marked with Bohemian melting melodies, poignant harmonies, and vigorous rhythms. Although like most of Dvorák's chamber music except his Piano Quintet and his "American" String Quartet, the String Quintet in G major is generally ignored in the concert hall and on disc, it is as worthy of attention as the string quintets of Brahms.

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