Stravinsky went through three very differing periods during his life, the first being essentially inspired by his Russian background; the second, a neoclassical phase, and finally, a period in which he embraced serial techniques.

All three works on this disc are essentially from his second phase, the Symphony in C dating from 1938, and first performed by the Chicago Symphony, to celebrate their 50th Anniversary

It is in the customary four movements, opening with a brilliant and rhythmically incisive first movement; the second with its haunting theme for solo oboe, while the remaining two movements are rhythmically complex, but in essence, were designed to bring the work to a customer-friendly conclusion.

Sketches for the Symphony in Three Movements began in 1942 with the work completed in 1945, when the composer was largely living in Hollywood, and the work has often been described as a Concerto for Orchestra with a concertante part for piano. It is indeed