The Delmé Quartet's twentieth anniversary in 1982 coincided with the 250th anniversary of the birth of Haydn, and to mark this dual occasion the Quartet asked five British composers to write works for them. Among these was Robert Simpson (b1921); he chose to mark both occasions by dedicating his Ninth String Quartet 'In affection and admiration' to the players, and by making the work a very large set of variations on a Haydn theme. Its first performance was given in the Wigmore Hall in London on 6 October, 1982.