The Pittsburgh Symphony commissioned Bates's Violin Concerto at the behest of a recommendation from composer John Adams and principal guest conductor Leonard Slatkin.
"[2] Violinist Anne Akiko Meyers had also sought a commission from Bates, remarking before the work's premiere:I've known Mason for several years.
[2]Bates later spoke of the experience, saying, "I've written a lot for strings in the orchestra, but writing for solo violin is completely different.
But the pops, clicks and thuds of techno present challenges in a violin concerto: the subtle textures of this eighteen-inch instrument would be quickly painted over by the powerful colors of such a big palette.
So, in order to fully showcase the violin, I stepped back into the acoustic universe—but with my ears still humming with exotic sounds.
Reviewing the world premiere, Mark Kanny of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review praised the Violin Concerto, saying, "The outer movements are high-energy excursions, driven by the composer's gifts for inventive rhythms, lyrical inspiration and a combination of moment-to-moment persuasiveness and feeling of formal satisfaction.
"[6] John von Rhein of the Chicago Tribune also praised the work, writing, "If Bates' big tune smacks of the Hollywood cornfields, he won me over when the fiddle engaged in dreamy dialogues with the percussion in the middle movement, and again when the violin soared in glimmering arcs high above the full orchestra in the finale.