In the score program notes, Carter wrote, "After the premiere of Conversations at the Aldeburgh Festival in June of 2011 Oliver Knussen suggested that I expand this piece.
Reviewing the world premiere, Steve Smith of The New York Times described it as "in effect a pocket-size double concerto" and said the work "took full advantage of its confident soloists."
He added, "Two initial movements engaged the soloists in volleys of brittle one-upmanship, with no small show of athleticism from the constantly sprinting Mr. Currie.
"[3] Martin Bernheimer of the Financial Times similarly said the piece "emerges as a genial, economic rumination on percussive structures and strictures" and wrote, "Colin Currie and Eric Huebner, the soloists, trade snappy, tricky rhythmic impulses on a piano plus numerous tapping/stroking/banging devices.
"[4] Kate Molleson of The Guardian later described the music as "playfully antagonistic"[5] and the music critic David Patrick Stearns of ArtsJournal said it "shows [Carter] at his wittiest, tossing about unexpected percussion sounds in close succession, thwarting aural expectations, rushing in all directions at one moment, and ending with a single, isolated ping-like bell.