Métaboles is an orchestral work by Henri Dutilleux, commissioned by the conductor George Szell in 1959 to mark the fortieth anniversary of the Cleveland Orchestra.

In the early 1960s, Dutilleux wanted to move away from traditional musical forms and develop new structures that changed according to the internal logic of a particular piece.

In the composer's own words: The rhetorical term Métaboles, applied to a musical form, reveals my intention: to present one or several ideas in a different order and from different angles, until, by successive stages, they are made to change character completely.

[4] In other words, throughout the work, various melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic ideas are presented and then gradually modified to the point that they transform into something radically different and undergo a complete change of nature.

It combines various melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic elements from the first four sections before reinstating the E natural chords heard at the very beginning and then rushing to an exhilarating coda.