The work was completed in 1985 and first performed at the St Magnus Festival by the violinist Isaac Stern and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by André Previn on 21 June 1986.
[1] The work is scored for a solo violinist and an orchestra consisting of two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, two horns, two trumpets, timpani, and strings.
His innate toughness and intensity still register, although here and there—for example, in the first movement cadenza—I did wonder whether the nature of the solo instrument, and the conventions of so much earlier virtuoso writing for it, were not getting between the composer and his most personal mode of expression."
He continued, "I also remain sceptical about whether 'tonality', as Davies understands it, contributes to the perceptibility and clarity of structure as significantly as the more basic formal divisions.
He added, "The composer asserts that this score was influenced by Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto -both works are in three movements played without pause, for instance.