The first three of Stravinsky's Four Etudes for orchestra are adaptations of the composer's Three Pieces for String Quartet (1914), to which he appended an arrangement of his Etude for Pianola (1917), originally composed directly onto a piano roll—a format that, obviously, greatly limited performance possibilities. When Stravinsky assembled these arrangements ca. 1929, he gave new titles to each of the movements.

In the opening "Danse," the woodwinds sound a repetitive figure over punctuation from the strings. The woodwinds are again highlighted in the playful, abrupt "Excentrique," which, according to the composer, was inspired by the antics of the English clown Little Tich. The slow-moving, somewhat dissonant, vaguely ominous chant-like tune of "Cantique" moves between the winds and strings.

The piece on which the fourth Etude was based had been written during a tour of Spain by the Ballets Russes. Stravinsky was inspired to write an homage to the country, incorporating traditional Spanish rhythms and melodic gestures; when he orchestrated it as the last of the Etudes, he renamed it, appropriately enough, "Madrid."

The Four Etudes were premiered in Berlin on November 7, 1930 under the direction of long-time Stravinsky champion Ernest Ansermet.

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