Rorem Violin Concerto

I went to see La Valse and the Rorem Violin Concerto, both at the Royal Opera House. The latter, performed on this occasion by the rich-sounding Vasko Vassilev (ROH Concertmaster), is a weird piece of music. A writer on the Good Music Guide website describes it as "a mish-mash of styles, a traffic-jam of ideas. Fast, slow, comic, serious, melodious and complex. Listen a few times. It grows on you."

I think I'm going to need to listen a few more times. It's one of those pieces you can't 'get' on a single hearing. Any Rorem experts out there who would like to contribute something to VMP3 about this work?

Link: Ned Rorem's website