was a fine orchestral instrument but completely insufficient for a solo concerto. Dvořák composed the concerto in New York while serving as the Director of the National Conservatory. In 1894, Victor Herbert, who was also teaching at the Conservatory, had written his Second Cello Concerto op. 30 and presented it several times that year, including its successful premiere with the New York Philharmonic under Anton Seidl. Dvořák attended at least two performances of Herbert's cello concerto and was inspired to fulfill Wihan's request for a cello concerto. Dvořák's concerto premiered in London on 16 March 1896, with the English cellist Leo Stern. The reception was "enthusiastic". Brahms said of the work: "Had I known that one could write a cello concerto like this, I would have written one long ago!" Agreeing with Schonberg, the cellist and author Robert Battey wrote "I believe it to be the greatest of all cello concertos...an opinion shared by most cellists". A compiler of discographies of Dvořák's music wrote that his is the "king" of cello concertos. In 1865, early in his career, Dvořák had composed a Violoncello concerto in A major with Piano accompaniment, B. 10. Günter Raphael in 1925–1929 produced a revised and orchestrated version. Dvořák's cataloguer Jarmil Burghauser made another orchestration and abridgement, published in 1975. Chamber music A viola player himself, Dvořák felt a natural affinity to writing for strings. His chamber work is heavily inspired by American folk culture, while also maintaining his Czech roots. Over a period of thirty years, Dvořák composed over forty chamber music works. String quintets In 1860, just after he completed his education at the Prague Organ School, Dvořák composed his String Quintet No. 1 in A minor, Op. 1. Two more would follow, of which the String Quintet No. 2 in G major, Op. 77 from early 1875, is noteworthy for the use of a double bass. This quintet was written towards the end of the composer's transitional phase, incorporating a thematic density to his works. This quintet is characterized by delicate operetta style uncommon in his instrumental work. The extension of a variation to all section is reminiscent of his symphonic literature. It was written for a chamber music competition sponsored by the Umělecká beseda (Artistic Circle), where it was unanimously awarded a prize of five ducats for the "distinction of theme, the technical skill in polyphonic composition, the mastery of form and