"[1] Rouse originally composed the second movement "The Infernal Machine" as a stand-alone piece in 1981, though he later elected to make it the second part of a larger work.
Phantasmata was commissioned in full by the St. Louis Symphony and a fellowship grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and completed March 22, 1985.
The piece derives its title from the eponymous play by Jean Cocteau, though the actual narrative did not influence Rouse's composition.
[2][3] Daniel Cariaga of the Los Angeles Times called the work "a perpetual-motion construct clearly designed to warm up both players and listeners through an illusion of frenzy.
[5] Rouse originally conceived the piece as "La Valse meets Studio 54," but it ultimately fashioned what he called a "nightmare konga."