William Schuman's first great popular and critical success, the Symphony No. 3 (1941), was dedicated to and premiered by the legendary conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Serge Koussevitsky. So when Koussevitsky commissioned a new Symphony from Schuman to celebrate the 75th birthday of the BSO, it was no wonder that the new Symphony No. 7 shared some features of the earlier work. Like the Symphony No. 3, No. 7 is in two sections, each of which contain two movements; in addition, the long passages for strings alone in No. 7 recall similar passages in No. 3. Most importantly, however, the Symphony No. 7 is intelligently planned, often gorgeous and always energetic, just as No. 3 was. The Symphony No. 7 was premiered by Koussevitsky's successor at the BSO, Charles Münch, in 1960.

In typical Schuman fashion, this work begins with instantly memorable music which returns in altered form for much of the work. Here, growling brass and string chords open the "Largo assai" first movement; brass chords and the string chords themselves are tonal, but together they make imposing polychords to an emphatic rhythm. Soon the woodwinds enter to accompany a new, tender melody in the low strings. After some elaboration on the new music, a solo trumpet ends the first section with a variation that trails off into thin air. Next, the first of two long passages for strings begins, developing the cello melody and the opening melody at an unhurried pace. The music swells and contracts, but gradually the volume grows and the pace quickens until the opening melody finally asserts itself once again with the re-entry of the brass. Unexpectedly, however, Schuman closes the movement with a long, free fantasy for clarinet and bass clarinet, initially accompanied by the opening melody but soon playing a quiet, oscillating solo. A short "Vigoroso" second movement follows without a break, dominated by bold writing for the brass choir and emphatic percussion, including a characteristically wild Schuman timpani solo. The "Cantabile intensamente" third movement is for strings alone, and it lives up to its "intensely sung" marking. Schuman writes in a gentle counterpoint where the main melody in the top voice is moved forward by melodic movement in the other voices. The contrary motion, augmentation, and diminution in this movement sound gorgeous, bathed in beautiful string sounds that gradually build to a climax and then wind back down. The movement ends with questioning tritones in the violins, which unexpectedly lead from the profundity of the third movement to the Scherzando brioso fourth. This movement's jokey character is established immediately with heavily syncopated woodwind chords and sparkling percussion. Short, quick phrases are traded throughout the orchestra, and Schuman provides a succession of seductive melodies. The coda slows everything down for a huge brass-and-percussion climax which hammers home a bright E flat chord to close the work. Schuman's Symphony No. 7 is one of the finest of his symphonic canon.

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