This was among the first works Hindemith composed when he settled in the United States in 1940, a refugee from Nazi Germany who would become an American citizen following the war. He started this symphony in September 1940, about the time he joined the faculty of Yale University, and completed it on December 15, that same year. The work hardly discloses a significant change in the composer's style or manner from the music he was composing when he departed Germany.

The Symphony is in four movements, with the last two played without break. The opening panel is marked "Very lively," and begins with a fanfare-like theme of heroic character. The music bristles with energy as the main theme permeates the musical landscape throughout. The short first movement is followed by the relatively lengthy second, marked "Very slowly." It starts off in a funereal mood, with brass and winds presenting a somber theme. The strings take it up and the music gradually intensifies, producing several climactic episodes. The third movement, marked "Lively," is really a scherzo, though the composer did not designate it as such. The music is playful and energetic, full of high spirits and humor. The finale begins with a variant of the fanfare-like theme from the first movement. As the music progresses, this theme transforms more closely back to its original guise. The whole movement is dramatic and heroic and reaches a resoundingly triumphant conclusion.



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