Piano Quintet No. 1, H. 229 was written in March of 1933, but its direct predecessor was the “zero” quintet of 1911. However, the autograph of the “zero” quintet is incomplete and the composition was never performed. The premiere of the Piano Quintet No. 1 took place in 1933 in Paris within the framework of “Concerts du Triton”; it was also soon played in Prague - as part of the program of the Czech Chamber Music Society performed by the Ondříček Quartet with Václav Štěpán on piano. Harmonically and polyphonically charged passages are interrupted by entrances of diatonic sections, which alternate, leading to dramatic contrasts.
Jana Honzíková a Sandra Bergmannová, programme of the Bohuslav Martinů Festival concert, December 12, 1999