Rejected by its planned dedicatee Léon Goossens, the composition was suppressed and not performed in public until after the composer's death in 1983.
In looking at the later clarinet sonata, both Huss and the anonymous author of the liner notes to the Hyperion recording comment that while both compositions share structural and rhythmic similarities, the clarinet sonata represents a simplification and clarification over the earlier work.
[1][2] Huss further speculates that as he started the process of revision Howells may have decided that in attempting to write a composition that would challenge Goossens skills as an oboist, he had in fact written beyond the capabilities of the oboe as he perceived them.
[5] The author of the Hyperion liner notes comments that in their opinion that the ending of the composition, which recapitulates material from the first two movements may have been a miscalculation on the composers part.
[b] Huss speculates that this was done because the music quoted created a specific atmosphere the composer wanted the piece to express.