The original piano cycle Op. 68 was composed in 1883 on demand of Fritz Simrock. As it was popular in the late nineteenth century to make arrangements of popular works for other instruments, on 28 December 1891 Dvorak made an arrangement for cello and piano of the fifth piece, for a farewell concert tour he gave with violinist Ferdinand Lachner and cellist Hanu Wihan in the first months of 1892 before embarking for the New World. The arrangement became so popular that Dvorak made a new arrangement for cello and orchestra on 28 October 1893.
