[1][2] Hindemith started thinking of writing an opera about Johannes Kepler in 1939, and he kept mentioning the project in his letters throughout the war years.

However, in 1951, the composer offered Paul Sacher the premiere of a "preview suite" of his future opera to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Basel Chamber Orchestra.

For this reason, the movements are not based upon dramatic events taking place in the opera, but rather the different ways in which humankind can experience universal consonance.

The musica instrumentalis begins with the overture used in the opera and is quickly followed by the march that opens act 2 and, later on, the refrain and first episode in the witch-trial scene.

Wilhelm Furtwängler declared that Die Harmonie der Welt Symphony was the composer's best orchestral composition and immediately included it in his repertoire.