Cocktail Party Fact: Martinu hesitated about calling this work a symphony, and originally planned to use no less than three pianos in the orchestra. The “symphony” in the title stayed, but the pianos went entirely, making it the only Martinu symphony without one.

Commitment Factor: About 30 minutes

Vital Statistics: Modern Period (1951). This is a three-movement symphony in totally original form: the outer movements both employ a slow-fast-slow pattern, while the central movement is a scherzo (joke), structured like a traditional symphonic first movement (with exposition, development, and recapitulation).

What to Listen For: This is an exotic and fascinating sonic experience. The very opening sounds like the whirling of some giant insect colony, while the second movement begins with different, equally insectoid noises. Essentially, the symphony is a search for simplicity, in which limpid, folk-like tunes keep finding themselves in the strangest surroundings. As is always with Martinu’s music, the piece is rhythmically hyperactive, in this case almost “twitchy.” There are no dead spots at all.