In the 1930s Arnold Schoenberg, who had left tonality in 1908 and then invented the twelve-tone system, returned to writing some tonal works. Some of them were original works, others were adaptation or arrangements. This rather strange work is a free adaptation of a Handel concerto grosso, the only one of that composer's Opus Six collection that does not have a solo concertino (small group of soloists contrasting with the larger orchestra). Schoenberg provided one in the form of a string quartet. His aim in writing this concerto seems to have been to bring Baroque music to a modern orchestral audience. (In 1933 such music was very rarely played.) Schoenberg "improved" it by eliminating "uninteresting" passages and expanding other parts. The resulting work at twenty-five minutes is considerably longer than the original's fifteen.

The most striking feature, though, is the orchestration. The piece is written by an orchestra that Handel would never have dreamed of: The standard Romantic-era orchestra with winds in pairs (including just one trombone), timpani, xylophone, glockenspiel, triangle, other percussion, harp and strings. The string quartet, moreover, is given playing techniques that come straight out of a typical twentieth century string work. The piece is so stylistically odd that it takes on a unique kind of amusing quality.

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