In the Capriccio for Piano and Orchestra, Stravinsky continued in the entertaining manner of the last movement of the Concerto. He eliminated most of the Baroque dramatic elements and produced a work that is pure fun all the way through. The mock-serious opening of the first movement, for full orchestra, breaks off after only a few measures; so does the next idea, a descending motif played by a solo violin and a solo cello. Both fragments are repeated (the second taken over by a group of solo woodwinds); after this, the main section of the movement gets underway. The ingratiating melodies and the sparkling passagework recall many a 19^th-century piano concerto (although none specifically). As in the Piano Concerto, much of the music is repeated literally, and the introductory measures again return at the end of the movement. The descending melody is expanded into a mysterious transition leading into the second-movement Andante rapsodico, which features some highly florid piano writing and many warmly melodic woodwind solos.

The concluding Allegro capriccioso was the movement out of which the whole composition grew. Stravinsky’s previous work before the Capriccio had been The Fairy’s Kiss, a ballet with music adapted from the works of Tchaikovsky. During his work on the ballet, Stravinsky began to think about composing a work that had the wit and charm of Tchaikovsky’s music without actually quoting from it. The idea is fully realized in this brilliant rondo which combines virtuosic and dance-like elements with some delicious neo-Classical harmonic "spices." The ending is as unexpected as the punch line of a joke.