Movements for Piano and Orchestra

Weber had asked for a work of between 15 and 20 minutes in length, but Stravinsky initially produced a compressed piece lasting barely half as long.

[2] According to a diary entry by biographer/assistant Robert Craft, in response to a letter received from the Webers (17 April 1959) Stravinsky said "I think I will have to add another minute or two of music," to which Vera replied "So much for 'all-encompassing conceptions of form.'

"[3] (orchestration: 2 flutes (2nd = piccolo), oboe, English horn, clarinet, bass clarinet, bassoon, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, harp, celesta, strings and solo piano) Stravinsky breaks the orchestra down into chamber-sized sections with the piano acting as a pivot between these, creating the type of subtle and gestural textures favored by Webern in his Concerto for Nine Instruments (Op.

[4] The highly constructed nature of the twelve-tone idiom he uses draws all its thematic material from one tone-row, which the piano gives in one non-linear gesture right at the opening: E♭ F♭ B♭ A♭ A♮ D C B♮ C♯ F♯ G and F♮.

[6] Traditional references to triadic harmonic structures are banished in favor of a near-total line-based idiom, and conventional ostinati and harmonic considerations are replaced by an atonal contrapuntal texture characterized by gestures, inner unity, and adherence to serial forms more pervasive than before in Stravinsky's career.