Schoenberg made his reduction of Matthias Georg Monn's 1746 Clavicembalo Concerto in D Major between November 1932 and January 1933, while in Barcelona. Earlier, Schoenberg had made an edition of Monn's concerto with a realization of the continuo part, performed by Pablo Cassals. Although Schoenberg dedicated his Concerto for Cello in D major to Cassals, the famous cellist never performed it. Instead, Emmanuel Feuermann gave the première in London in 1935.

Schoenberg's orchestration is decidedly un-Baroque. Tuned percussion, muted trumpets and celesta sound almost comic in their presentation of such historically distant chord progressions and formal structures. One wonders why the fifty-six-year-old Schoenberg felt compelled to produce this piece.

The first movement, "Rule Britannia" is considered by some to be the most difficult in the cello literature. Its stately ritornello brings into play the full orchestral forces from the beginning, the orchestra becoming subservient with each cello entrance. The cello part itself features great contrasts in register even in single lines and includes a brief cadenza before the final ritornello.

Marked Andante, alla marcia, the second movement has a funereal atmosphere. Occasional col legno playing in the orchestra strings accompanies the soloist's plaintive lines.

In 3/4 and marked Tempo di minuetto, the finale opens with a rapid figure in the solo cello. Near the end of the movement, one of the orchestra episodes approaches the flavor of a Strauss waltz. Shortly afterward, the soloist plays a slightly Spanish sounding passage with pizzicati glissandi that is actually an accompaniment to a violin solo.

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