The work was commissioned by the Hudson Valley Philharmonic, the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, and the Philharmonia Virtuosi with a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.
Its world premiere was performed by the pianist Jacquelyn M. Helin and the Hudson Valley Philharmonic conducted by Imre Palló on January 31, 1986.
[1] The concerto has a performance duration of approximately 21 minutes and is written in one continuous movement divided into three sections, each referencing its own Beethoven sonata.
Reviewing the world premiere, the music critic Bernard Holland of The New York Times viewed the piece rather unfavorably, remarking, "Miss Tower's concerto rides the crest of a curiously tranquil new wave of composers - this sleepy avant-garde of ours that seems to have gazed deeply into the eyes of the future and found nothing there at all."
Listening to this concerto's Beethovenian allusions, its little bursts of minimalist repetition, its whole-tone methodology, its warmly chiming percussion effects - all smoothly glued one to the next - was a little like walking into a shiny new split-level house that has been crammed with antiques.