During his stay in
Linz, Bruckner composed his
String Quartet in 1862 as a student exercise assigned by his form and orchestration teacher,
Otto Kitzler. On reviewing Bruckner's work, Kitzler was perhaps dissatisfied with Bruckner's unconventionality of the first rondo. He therefore suggested that a new rondo in a more traditional rondo-sonata form would have benefited the piece. Bruckner responded by creating this new large rondo form, creating a new work significantly different in musical content from the original as well as noticeably longer, with a performance time of approximately five minutes. This second Rondo, which has the same
key,
metre, and
formal structure as the first Rondo, can be regarded as an alternative to the first Rondo. The autograph date on the work is 15 August 1862. The Rondo in C minor was part of the , a collection of autographs and sketches created during Bruckner's studies with Kitzler. As with the other works Bruckner composed during Kitzler's tuition, the Quartet and the additional Rondo were not performed or issued during Bruckner's life. Bruckner did not intend for the Quartet to be publicly performed with either rondo, or for the Rondo in C minor to be performed independently, as he saw these compositions only as technical studies for the purposes of practicing form. Since the work was not known at the time of Renate Grasberger's thematic catalogue of Bruckner's music, (WAB), it was initially referred to as "WAB
deest" and later as WAB 208 by the
Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften.
Leopold Nowak, the musicologist known for editing the works of Bruckner, was permitted to access the Kitzler-Studienbuch, which was in private possession, and to transcribe the Rondo in C minor. The Rondo was premiered on 17 August 1984 in Vienna as part of a celebration of his eightieth birthday. in Band XII of Bruckner's ''''. == Music ==