It was commissioned for the Hopkins Center Congregation of the Arts at Dartmouth College by its music director, Mario di Bonaventura, who conducted the world premiere on August 6, 1967, at the Congregation of Arts Festival, with clarinetist Donald Wendlant and the Dartmouth Symphony Orchestra.
[2] The Concerto is characterized by consistency and formal balance, which produces a satisfying sense of unity.
Another prominent feature is the syncopated energetic rhythm that is typical of Piston's music.
This is particularly prominent in the scherzo, which employs delicate percussion tapping also typical of the composer.
The three fast movements are in each in an A-B-A ternary form with a more lyrical B section providing contrast to the more vigorous outer parts.