After Henri Dutilleux completed this work, which was commissioned by the Cleveland Orchestra under George Szell, he looked up all the words beginning with the prefix "meta-" in the dictionary to find a title for it. He eventually settled on Métaboles because, in physiology, the word refers to the continuous, incremental chemical transformation of one compound into another. In Dutilleux's piece, the word describes the structure of the work, as each of the five brief orchestral movements is a transformation of the movement that succeeds it, and the final movement combines all that has come before. "Incantatoire," the first movement, begins with sustained E naturals in the winds, punctuated by sharp chords from the orchestra. The E natural becomes a pivotal point for the entire work. The remainder of the movement opposes freer melodies on the clarinet, flute, and trumpet to the E naturals. The strings only have the melody for a brief period in "Incantatoire," and that brief melody becomes the basis for the second movement, "Lineaire," written solely for the strings. Throughout the movement, there is only one prominent melodic line at a time, which gives it a "linear" feel. The music itself is slow and nocturnal, with Dutilleux's marvelous ear for timbres providing some gorgeous sounds. "Obsessionnel," is the skittish third movement that takes an idea from "Lineaire," makes it faster and more rhythmic, and entrusts it mainly to the brass, although pizzicato strings play a large role, as well. "Torpide," the fourth movement, features percussion accents on a series of sustained chords in the winds and brass, which are slowed-down remnants of the third movement. Dutilleux's use of percussion is highly inventive in using motion to suggest a lack of motion. The last movement is marked "Flamboyant," and it brings all the instruments together. After all the instruments have entered playing characteristic music from the first four movements, the winds play the E natural chords from the first movement. The whole orchestra then rushes headlong into a rousing coda. Dutilleux's highly individual orchestration always pleases the ear, and the formal methods he uses in Métaboles unify the work.

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