The work was commissioned by the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra for the pianist Hilde Somer, to whom the concerto is dedicated.
The first movement, for example, is a set of 32 variations inspired by the seven-note chord at measure 208 of the finale of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony.
[1] Reviewing the world premiere, the music critic Patrick Corbin of The Indianapolis Star wrote, "It's a brilliant, percussive work in the contemporary vein that requires dazzling virtuosity on the part of the soloist.
"[2] Reviewing a 2016 recording by Xiayin Wang and the BBC Philharmonic, Andrew Farach-Colton of Gramophone observed, "The thematic material is derived from the dissonant, crunching chord that opens the finale of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, and there's a touching sense throughout the work of glancing back at the past while still looking resolutely ahead."
He added, "I'd always thought of this work as inferior to the more popular First Concerto; this recording has made me seriously reconsider that opinion.