The second of Arensky's two symphonies is much shorter, and less lyrical, than its predecessor. Arensky was by the late 1880s developing a reputation for his songs, and this work's comparative lack of singable melodies seems to have disappointed the composer's audience. It is, however, thoroughly symphonic in its creation and manipulation of themes, and includes an unusual approach to structure.

The symphony begins with an exuberant Allegro giocoso, the sort of music William Walton might have written had he been a nineteenth century Russian. The big, brassy theme recedes long enough for Arensky to introduce a second, softer, more soaring subject that almost might be suitable as an opera aria. Arensky repeats the exposition—a rather unusual gambit by 1889—then dives into a pulsating development. But just after Arensky has reworked the second subject a bit and seems ready to begin the recapitulation, the composer offers something new, without a pause: a Romanza, marked Adagio ma non troppo. This slow movement, after a perhaps too extended transition that seems like harmonization looking for a melody, features a broad, seamless cello solo whose ardor is intensified by the theme's high position in the instrument's range.

After this miniature cello concerto comes an Allegretto, designated Intermezzo. It's delicate and dance-like, and makes colorful use of the full orchestra at low dynamic levels. In the middle is a section that somewhat resembles an old-fashioned minuet—the sort of material that formerly formed the outer sections of a symphony's third movement.

The finale, Allegro moderato, begins portentously, but quickly slides into a playful restatement of the first movement's main matter, including a harmonically more urgent version of the second subject. In effect, this is the first movement's "missing" recapitulation and triumphant coda.

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