This little lyrical and sumptuous gem is based on the famous 2nd movement of his String Quartet No. 1 in D major Op. 11. The arrangement was probably written in Paris in 1888 for his friend, the Russian cellist Anatoly Brandukov.

The current edition is based on the edition from the volume of the old Tchaikovsky Complete Edition published by Victor L. Kubacky (1891-1970), a pupil of Brandukov.