Though the special technical challenges of much twentieth-century music have become a matter of routine for professional orchestras, they constituted a largely unexplored territory in the early decades of the century. As a result of unusual metrical groupings (a measure in, say, eleven often having an unsettling effect upon musicians steeped in twos, threes, and fours), novel playing techniques, and the like, performers were more or less forced to adopt the same pioneering spirit of the composers who included such innovations in their own music. It was indeed the technical challenges posed by Copland's Short Symphony (1933) that led to the work's longtime obscurity. Aside from a brave but not completely satisfactory essay in 1934 by the Orquesta Sinfónica de México under Carlos Chávez, the work's constantly shifting meters and accents ensured that it remained unperformed for years. In an effort to present the work to audiences, Copland arranged the Symphony for clarinet, piano, and string quartet. In this form—as the Sextet—it was premiered in 1939; since then, it has enjoyed numerous performances as a viable, effective chamber work in its own right.

The Sextet is cast in three movements that segué into one another. The first, Allegro Vivace, is charged with a constantly changing, highly rhythmic snap and is further characterized by large melodic leaps in the piano and glissandi in the strings. The second movement, Lento, is slow and somber, a sonorous meditative theme alternating with a more animated yet plaintive melody. The Finale, like the first movement, is marked by rhythmic bustle and is filled with polyrhythmic complexities that drive the work to a decisive conclusion.

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