 6 is dedicated to the Kolisch Quartet, and it was they who gave its premiere at The Town Hall in New York City on 20 January 1941.They were on tour in the United States when that country entered the war and civilian transport across the ocean suddenly became unavailable.Rather than continue with the Quartet in the face of great uncertainty about the future, the cellist and violist soon took jobs with major U.S. orchestras (Philadelphia and Boston, respectively).