An unmitigated disaster from start to finish, this work was one of those which entirely failed to capture the audience's emotions—or their understanding—when premièred with dedicatee Joseph Salmon in 1909. It was in fact met with outright incomprehension and hostility, personified in catcalls and whistling before the piece had even concluded. Its major problem from the perspective of public acceptance is the extremely advanced nature of its harmonic language and the fact that there is no extended melodic line on which to anchor an instinctive understanding. Notable for the colorful but apparently directionless meandering of the solo instrument, its ceaseless melody with little thematic development only contributes to its impenetrability.

© All Music Guide