Dvorák first made his name outside his homeland with his third symphony, a faintly Wagnerian work that was also the first of his symphonies to gain public performance. In 1874 it received an Austrian State Stipend, as well as a premiere under the baton of Smetana.

The work, unusually, falls into only three movements. The sunny, confident first, Allegro moderato, is itself almost monothematic. The first theme rises with what has been described as a "Wagnerian turn," and in certain moments suggests the sort of music Wagner might provide for the more prayerful moments of Parsifal. Yet there's nothing meditative about this Dvorák music, which presses forward without interruption. The second theme includes a descending line derived straight from the first theme, with the "Wagnerian turn" now lurking in the accompaniment. This almost sounds as if it could be part of the development section. The true development, though, treats both themes at some length, although Dvorák omits the second subject from the recapitulation, driving the primary theme right through to the coda.

Central to this symphony in more ways than one is the Adagio molto, tempo di marcia, a long, somber funeral march, at least in its C sharp minor outer sections, which show Dvorák developing his own characteristic style with particularly individualistic woodwind writing. Yet there are also a few echoes of Berlioz here, something of a cross between Roméo et Juliette and, at times, the Symphonie funèbre et triomphale. The middle section slips into D flat major, shakes off the funeral weeds, and becomes a noble procession that treads dangerously close to the Valhalla of Wagner's Das Rheingold (at one point, the Rhine even seems to be churning below).

Dvorák leaves Wagner behind in the finale, Allegro vivace, although the presence of Berlioz still makes itself felt, as does perhaps that of Mendelssohn. The form is basically sonata-rondo, springing from an exuberant dotted-rhythm main theme. A few Czech folk elements creep into the score, but not as boldly as would be Dvorák's norm in his subsequent symphonies. In some ways, this might be considered a comparatively foursquare preparation for Dvorák's even more vibrant Carnival Overture, to come some years later.

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