It has been one of the more unusual stories in the realm of contemporary classical music. Some 35 small to mid-size orchestras joined forces to commission a work by Brookline resident Osvaldo Golijov, a Grammy Award-winning former MacArthur Fellow who is one of the most admired composers of the past decade.

But questions about the creative process behind his 2010 composition “Sidereus’’ - which is on the Longwood Symphony Orchestra’s Saturday program - have given rise in recent weeks to what is either a scandal or a tempest in a teapot, depending on your view.