An extrovert person, surrounded by a turbulent, noisy society, suddenly finds himself all alone. His behaviour changes gradually and he increasingly turns inward. This is the basic idea of the piece.
The work opens with a “noise”, in which all the instruments partake and which introduces almost the entire musical material of the piece. The listener might, perhaps, absorb it even unconsciously. Suddenly the “noise” ceases and the clarinet remains to play alone. This solo influences the structure of the work. The development of the musical ideas, which are not programmatic, stems from the material presented in the beginning. The instruments split up into various and ever-changing groups, sometimes proceeding with no apparent dependence on each other.
The piece ends with the “noise” heard at the outset, only this time its character is more tender. Starting with a very wide instrumental range, it decreases slowly, reaching a single note, which eventually fades away.