Child prodigy of incredible precocity, often compared to Mozart, Korngold's destiny was shattered by the rise of Nazism and the war. This incidental music for Shakespeare's play Much ado about nothing was commissioned by the Volksbühne in Vienna in 1918 and enjoyed great success. Korngold used it in various arrangements, including this suite in the form of four pieces for violin and piano.

This light score precedes the composition of his Piano Quintet op.15 by two years; still in a romantic style, it is barely disturbed by harmonies and audacious modulations. Three movements and as many different expressions between the constantly changing moods of the first, the deep reverie of the second and the flowing creativity of the final rondo.

One of the first essays by the very young Gustav Mahler (16 years old) is inserted in the middle of the two works by Korngold. Published for the first time in 1973, this single movement of a Piano Quartet in A minor owes everything to Brahms, although it already has a few personal twists.