Writing to his friend Gottfred Matthison-Hansen on 12 December 1866, Grieg mentioned two pieces for cello and piano that he had recently composed in Bergen. In all probability one of the two pieces was the present Intermezzo. The brevity of the Intermezzo and its heading in the autograph manuscript (I. Suiten) suggests that it was meant to form part of a larger cycle of pieces. Apart from the Sonata in A minor (Op. 36), however, Grieg is not known to have produced any further works for this combination of instruments.