The failings of nationalism seem an unlikely topic for a composition by MARVIN HAMLISCH , known for the scores of "A Chorus Line" and the movie "The Way We Were." But tonight a symphonic suite by Mr. Hamlisch, "Anatomy of Peace," will have its premiere performance by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra in the Morton H. Meyerson Hall in Dallas.

"I have always thought of music as a highway with many lanes," Mr. Hamlisch said yesterday. "This is just opening another lane."

The work is based on a book by the late Emery Reves, an author, publisher and art collector, that was published in 1945 but languished in obscurity until it was discovered and enthusiastically reviewed by Albert Einstein. Mr. Hamlisch said the central idea of the suite, which was commissioned by the orchestra to honor Reves, is that "if we had one set of laws governing all countries, rather than each country believing that it is the center of the universe, we would have world peace."

To translate that into music, he said he has "the different sections of the orchestra representing different nations with their different rules, all in disarray."

"A solo flute introduces the theme of unity," he said, "but at first each section of the orchestra resists the call." Children sing of reconciliation and ultimately "the orchestra plays together in joyous, wild, majestic triumph."