Concerto in E flat major "Dumbarton Oaks"

The piece unfolds in three short movements played by about fifteen instruments, so every line stands out clearly rather than blending into a mass of sound.

I. Tempo giusto: A steady, marching pulse opens the work, with instruments trading short, angular phrases back and forth like a conversation. The texture recalls the interlocking give and take of a Baroque concerto grosso, where small groups of instruments alternate with each other.

II. Allegretto: A slower, more lyrical movement follows, built from a single winding melody that passes from one instrument to another. Listen for how the tune keeps returning slightly changed, as if seen from a new angle each time.

III. Con moto: The finale returns to the brisk energy of the opening, with busy, overlapping lines and sudden shifts of rhythm that keep the music feeling off balance in an entertaining way. The concerto ends abruptly, without a grand final flourish.

Throughout, listen for Stravinsky's fingerprints: irregular accents that displace the beat, and instruments doubling each other in tart, slightly unexpected combinations that give the music its dry, clear-eyed wit.

Stravinsky wrote this concerto in 1937 and 1938 on commission from Robert and Mildred Bliss, wealthy Americans, to mark their thirtieth wedding anniversary. The Blisses' Washington, D.C. estate, Dumbarton Oaks, gave the piece its nickname. Stravinsky modeled the work on Bach's Brandenburg concertos, aiming for the same clarity of texture and interplay among instruments, filtered through his own sharp rhythmic language. Illness prevented Stravinsky from conducting the premiere himself, and Nadia Boulanger led the first performance at Dumbarton Oaks in 1938. The concerto quickly became a favorite chamber orchestra piece, valued for its compact size and its blend of old forms with modern bite.