Mark Anthony Turnage, who celebrates his 50th birthday this summer, composed On Opened Ground for one of the world's most celebrated viola soloists, Yuri Bashmet, and the Cleveland Orchestra. The title pays homage to Seamus Heaney whose collected poems were published under the tile Opened Ground in 1998. Throughout the work the opening motif, heard in the viola - a rapid gesture marked 'rough and aggressive' - undergoes various transformations in shape and character, becoming 'warm and intense' and finally 'muted and distant' at the end of the work.

Peteris .Vasks supports the solo part with a string orchestra accompaniment, employing a warm, sonorous tone that is particularly effective during the slow movements. The two central movements pose exciting technical challenges as the soloist is confronted with extended cadenzas in the 'Allegro moderato' and the following 'Andante'. The rhythmically dominated fast movement is demanding for the soloist who plays in almost uninterrupted polyphony.