The "Jeremiah" Symphony (1942) represents Leonard Bernstein's first foray into the realm of large-scale orchestral composition. The work began life as the single-movement Lamentation for soprano and orchestra, sketched out by the composer in the summer of 1939. Bernstein worked it into its final form three years later, at which point it became the final movement of his symphony-in-progress. The completion of the first two movements was soon undertaken amid a frantic burst of activity, as Bernstein hoped to finish the work in time to enter it in a competition sponsored by the New England Conservatory of Music. Biographer Meryle Secrest details the frenetic scene that accompanied the last-minute completion of the work:

"He tore into the project, finishing the piano score in the space of ten days.... [The orchestration] took three days and nights, working around the clock. Even so, it was too late to mail the manuscript to meet the competition deadline of December 31, 1942. True to form, Bernstein got on a train for Boston and delivered his work in person, just two hours before midnight."

Though the symphony did not win the New England Conservatory Prize, it was selected by the New York Critic's Circle as the best new symphonic work for 1943-1944. Bernstein himself conducted the premiere on January 28, 1944, leading the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.

Though Jeremiah is cast in the traditional multi-movement shape of a symphony, Bernstein greatly alters and expands the more usual context of each movement as it relates to the entire work. The opening "Prophecy" serves as a dark and somber evocation of biblical seer Jeremiah's warning of the destruction of Jerusalem and its temple. The scherzo-like second movement, "Profanation," employs irregular and constantly changing meter to represent the chaos that accompanied the destruction of the temple, drawing its thematic material in part from the traditional Sabbath service. The final movement is a "Lamentation" in which the orchestra accompanies a mezzo-soprano soloist in passages (in Hebrew) from the Book of Lamentations that reflect upon the demise of Jerusalem.

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