Helen Grime's Piano Concerto was written for the between 2016 and 2017 on a joint commission from Wigmore Hall and the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group.
Its world premiere was given by the pianist Huw Watkins, Grime's husband, and members of the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group at Wigmore Hall, London, on 3 March 2017.
In the score program note, Grime said that her intention "was to create an intimate piece which is as much about chamber music as moments of great virtuosity and stillness."
[1] Reviewing the world premiere, Erica Jeal of The Guardian called the concerto "a compact work of glittering sonorities carefully applied, with a hectic finale that explodes and then vanishes into thin air."
Jeal questioned the classification of the piece as a piano concerto, however, adding, "While it certainly demands virtuosic display from the pianist – something Watkins supplied with assurance – the focus is shared between all seven players.