The quartet is in six movements which are played without a break. The odd-numbered movements are quick, and are all based on the same material – an unsettled chord with B as the melody note, followed by a downward arpeggio flourish and a rising stepwise melody. The tempo in movements 3 and 5 gets progressively faster, and the atmosphere increasingly scherzando in character. The first two even-numbered movements (2 and 4) are slow expressive intermezzi; both feature an up-beat of three repeated Bs leading into chromatic lines. The final movement serves as an epilogue and resolution; the instruments are now muted and the three repeated Bs are now on the beat, while off-beat accompaniment figures provide a gentle swaying dance around them.
