Schuller was playing horn in the Cincinnati Symphony in 1950 when he completed three of what was to become four movements of the Symphony for Brass and Percussion. The three movements were premiered in February of that year by the Group A Brass Ensemble at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, conducted by Ernest Glover, a leading proponent of the brass choir movement in the 40s and 50s. By 1951, Schuller had completed the fourth movement and the complete work received its first New York performance, conducted by Leon Barzin. Later, a performance at the hands of Dimitri Mitropoulos with the New York Philharmonic (in November, 1956) did much to propel the composition into a permanent place in the repertory of brass ensembles. At the same time, this performance was a pivotal event in Schuller's rising career, bringing him to the attention of Aaron Copland, Samuel Barber, and Pierre Monteux among others.

The opening chord of the first movement sounds like all twelve notes of the chromatic scale stacked vertically, the clever voicing heralding an auspicious beginning. A lyrical trumpet solo occurs immediately after the opening chord. Later, the movement develops into a spirited allegro. The second movement is a frenzied scherzo. The penultimate section is a brief lento that employs muted trumpets to great aural advantage.

This is superb idiomatic brass writing and the work is very challenging technically for the performers. Schuller's complete understanding of the capabilities of brass instruments is incredible. The work comes to a conclusion with a final chord of twelve-pitches splintered .

The overall sound spectrum of the piece, although dissonant, is not that of twelve-tone writing. It has been recorded at least four times. Among these are the performance conducted by Dimitri Mitropoulos with the New York Brass Ensemble of the Jazz and Classical Society including the best of the city's brass players (Columbia CL 941, 1957), and the composer's own interpretation with the Summit Brass (Summit Records DCD 127, 1991).

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