Conversation

A snare drum beats a tattoo of sixteenth-note triplets for four bars in 3/4 time. It’ll do this for 340 bars.

Accompanying it are a viola and violoncello, plucking staggered quarter notes, pianissimo.

Then a solo flute comes in, also pianissimo, playing a melodic theme 1. It’s two 8-bar phrases. When it’s done, a clarinet plays melodic theme 2, also for two 8-bar phrases, while a second flute mirrors the snare’s tattoo.

You’ve heard the whole piece in 38 bars. From here on, it’s repetition.