"You are in possession of the properties that make a symphony composer," wrote Jean Sibelius to his pupil Leevi Madetoja. This first symphony, written when the composer was in his late twenties, immediately proved the older master was correct. It is a rich and romantic score, blending the romantic nationalism of the times with the newer harmonic styles pioneered in French music. It is a concise symphony, whose three movements add up to less than twenty-five minutes. It shows the true symphonist's skill and devising contrasting themes that can nevertheless work together to contribute ideas for dramatic development.

The main theme of the first movement is a short, intense motive. Erkki Salmenhaara, commenting on the symphony, remarks that this syncopated subject is strangely reminiscent of the main theme from Richard Strauss's Till Eulenspiegel, unusual since Madetoja was not particularly a fan of Strauss. The contrasting theme is dreamy and if it also resembles the music of a past composer, that would be Tchaikovsky. This contrasting theme is so calm that it halts the dramatic progress of the work, that has to be kick-started back to life by the first subject, which propels piece to the end through a recapitulation that is, oddly, in E Major. The slow movement has a strong Finnish character, and is lyrical and mysterious in tone. The third movement begins with the two themes of the first movement; once again, the second subject shows its odd tendency to stop time. Again the music is shoved back into life, this time with a new theme that begins the third movement proper. Harmonic and tonal inventiveness are a feature of this movement, affecting its very structure: At its culmination it slides away from an ending in the home key of F for a conclusion in C Major, but falls a third again to a final A Major chord.

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