[1] The work is scored for a solo viola and an orchestra consisting of two flutes (2nd doubling piccolo), oboe, cor anglais, two clarinets, bassoon, contrabassoon, four horns, three trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, three percussionists, harp, and strings.
In an unexpected gesture, the soloist finishes fractionally ahead of everyone else after some spectacular, rapid string crossing, leaving his comrades to play two final chords.
"[3] Ivan Hewett of The Daily Telegraph called it "a hugely ambitious piece, which summoned starkly opposed worlds of feeling, and forced them into anguished confrontations.
"[4] David Nice of The Arts Desk also lauded the concerto, saying "the more introspective passages proved haunting in a very MacMillanesque way.
Similarly resourceful scoring occurs in the finale, where a solo flute invokes the sound world of the Japanese shakuhachi.