Bates commented on this inspiration in the score program notes, writing:A master of magical realism and narrative puzzles, Borges was the perfect writer to create a compendium of mythological creatures.
The musical realization of this, a kind of psychedelic Carnival of the Animals, is presented in eleven interlocking movements (a sprawling form inspired by French and Russian ballet scores).
Johnson continued, "Dedicated to Muti, Zoology is the 37-year-old composer's largest and most ambitious orchestral work to date, scored for huge forces and massive percussion battery.
A huge percussion battery essentially co-opts the role of electronica, typically a key element of Bates' orchestral arsenal.
[2]Georgia Rowe of the San Jose Mercury News called the piece "scintillating" and said, "It's a large, panoramic 30-minute score, one that surges with vitality and glistens with alluring orchestral color.