Igor Stravinsky's Symphony in C (French: Symphonie en ut) was written in 1939-40, during a particularly turbulent period of the composer's life. He was still mourning the deaths of his daughter, wife, and mother in close succession when World War II forced him to leave Paris, where he had begun work on the symphony, to embark on a second exile in the United States. Stravinsky completed the last two movements of the symphony in Beverly Hills. The style of the symphony is representative of the neoclassical epoch in Stravinsky's musical career, which had been launched by his chamber work Octet and his ballet Pulcinella. The symphony consists of four movements and takes around 30 minutes to perform:
- Moderato alla breve
- Larghetto concertante
- Allegretto
- Largo – Tempo giusto alla breve
The premiere performance was given by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra on November 7, 1940, conducted by Stravinsky himself.
