In the tradition of composers repaying their patrons with bits of music, Igor Stravinsky wrote his Three Pieces for clarinet solo (1919) as an expression of gratitude to Werner Reinhart. Reinhart had bankrolled the first production of the composer's L'histoire du soldat (1918) and was, furthermore, an enthusiastic amateur clarinetist. Since Stravinsky enjoyed composing for that instrument, the interests of the two men dovetailed nicely.

The first of these very brief pieces remains in the instrument's low chalumeau register. This register's cool tone proves an apt match for the meandering, introspective melody which at times seems ready to to fade into silence. It perks up just before its close, leading nicely into the second piece. Written without bar lines, this miniature opens with cascading, high arpeggios, moves into a middle section distinguished by hiccuping appoggiaturas, and brings back the arpeggios at its end. The third piece, a jazzy little essay that whizzes by at breakneck speed, recalls the "Ragtime" movement from L'histoire. Reinhart was no doubt pleased by Stravinsky's somewhat slight but always entertaining gift.

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