"[1][2] The concerto was written especially for Paul Neubauer, with whom had Kernis previously collaborated on his 1993 piano quartet Still Movement with Hymn.
[1] Reviewing the world premiere, Michael Anthony of the Star Tribune described the viola concerto as "a large three-movement work with vividly contrasting colors and carefully worked-out structures that offers the viola—as well as the orchestra—ample technical challenges along with numerous opportunities to show off the instrument's unique, dark sound.
Passages of intense lyricism, especially in the movement marked 'Romance,' approach a kind of ecstasy that is one of the hallmarks of Kernis's music."
"[2] Mark Swed of the Los Angeles Times similarly called the piece "a traditional three-movement work for a solo instrument, but instead of a series of dramatic instances, it expresses a deep-seated goal.
It begins as a young man's simple quest for romance, which is ultimately a search for the meaning of life and death.