[1] In the score program notes, Rorem wrote, "When David Geringas came to visit in early 2000 I was pleased by his wish for a new piece.
[1] The concerto has a duration of approximately 22 minutes[2] and is cast in eight movements: The work is scored for a solo cello and an orchestra consisting of two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, two horns, two trumpets, timpani, harp, piano, and strings.
Reviewing a 2007 recording of the work, Bryce Morrison of Gramophone wrote, "In the Cello Concerto Rorem happily eschews a conventional form, giving programmatic subtitles to each section.
These range from 'Curtain Raise' to 'Adrift', offering Wen-Sinn Yang a rich opportunity, whether playing primus inter pares or revelling in Rorem’s alternating nostalgia and effervescence.
[3] Alex Ross of The New Yorker similarly observed, "The recent Cello Concerto nods several times to favorite predecessors—pealing, dissonant fanfares recall Messiaen; a kind of slide show of contrasting chords brings back the Interview Scene in Britten's Billy Budd—but it also includes three extended songs without words which could have been composed only by Rorem, each one sadder, lonelier, kindlier than the next.