Glière began working on his first symphony at the age of twenty-two, when he was still a student at the Moscow Conservatory. It was completed in 1900. The premiere was not a success, and Glière left for Germany to study conducting with Oskar Fried. The symphony is a charming work of unmistakably Russian origin. Although it does not show the eastern exoticism that characterizes the works of the Mighty Five, it is closer to Borodin than to Tchaikovsky. The style has an uncanny resemblance to that of Kalinnikov, whose Symphony No. 2 was written in the same year. The thirty-five-minute work is in four movements. The first begins with an Andante introduction that from a calm and quiet beginning grows to a climax that suddenly collapses into the first subject of the Allegro, itself derived from that of the introduction. The pensive second subject is reminiscent of Rimsky-Korsakov, and the same could be said of the scherzo movement, Molto vivace. The third movement, Andante, is imbued with deep Russian melancholy, rising passionately near the ending. The Allegro finale is lively and would be almost celebratory if it were not for the frequent excursions into minor mode.

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