Already his FIRST SYMPHONY revealed his talent to unfold large-scale, Bruckneresque planes, expanded in time and space, to impregnate them with dramatism and intrinsically single-minded clearness of purpose, to deploy at their maximum the timbral and dynamic potential of the instrumental apparatus both in the form of refined solo-lines and using the unrestrained sound power of the entire orchestra, to paint apparently tangible, constantly shifting images, to entrance with his emotional musical narrative.

The symphony was completed in 1899 – the year which also saw the appearance of the symphonic poem Finland, as well as the music for a number of theatrical productions. The work premiered on 26 April 1899 in the performance of the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of the author, but there is no surviving score of this original version. After the premiere, Sibelius made some revisions and in this revised version which is the one still in performance to this day, the Symphony was heard on 1 July 1900 in Berlin performed by the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Robert Kajanus.