Concerto In Pieces was commissioned by the BBC as a celebration of two major events in British history of music: the 1995 tercentenary of the death of Henry Purcell and the 50th anniversary of Benjamin Britten's Young Persons' Guide to the Orchestra in 1996. Concerto in Pieces may be performed without the commentaries, as an uninterrupted set of variations. Work for Orchestra dating from 1994.