 Even though "The Triumph of Time" was created as a standalone composition, Birtwistle said on one occasion that this work, "Earth Dances" and "Deep Time" could be viewed as a triptych, even though they were not initially planned as such and the composer never made such a connection present in his work.The final version of this composition was a commission from the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, which gave the first performance under Lawrence Foster on 1 June 1972 at the Royal Festival Hall.This composition is set in one movement and has a total duration of 28 minutes.