As a young man, Brahms came to the notice of Robert Schumann, who wrote a famous article praising the young composer and predicting great things in his future. His relationship with Schumann and his wife Clara was quite complex: he admired Robert and his music greatly, and was greatly distressed by the elder composer's mental illness and early death. His feelings for Clara were probably a real and deep love, but owing to his respect for Robert this love was not admitted to by Brahms, and was unrequited by Clara. So his passions were poured into his music, which has an emotional richness which combines with an inner logic and strength which derive from Beethoven.

He had begun sketching a symphony in D minor after first hearing Beethoven's Choral symphony when he was 21. After much effort however, most of this material evolved into the First Piano Concerto, while some ended up in the German Requiem. His awe of Beethoven, and fear of being compared with the great master, meant that his first published symphony had to wait another 20 years for completion, when he was 43. It was first performed in Karlruhe on 4th November, 1876. The public had been eagerly awaiting the symphony, and was not disappointed. After attending the Vienna premiere the following month, the critic Hanslick said that "the symphony is so earnest and complex that it hardly lends itself to quick understanding", but adds that "it is one of the most individual and magnificent works of the symphonic literature". He was right on both counts, though the complexity does not get in the way of ready enjoyment.

The symphony opens with a powerful slow introduction, in which several fragments of themes are presented, but part-formed, indistinctly in the swirling clouds, as it were. These form the basis for the main themes of the allegro proper, in which the tunes stand out hard and stark, like jagged mountain peaks. The development of these themes is complex and subtle, passionate and stormy, but there is a surprise at the end - the movement closes with a coda in the calm sunlight of C major, all passion spent (for the time being).

The slow movement which follows is in the distant key of E major, and begins with a long melody at first on the violins, later taken over by the oboe. This movement is really a long song, which rises to several soaring climaxes, where both strings and woodwind offer new angles on the melody. Towards the end a solo violin both shares the melody and adds its own distinctive decoration.

The gentle allegretto, though it rises to quite a climax in the middle, is largely a respite from the drama so far.

The drama is resolved in the magnificent finale which, like the first movement, begins with a slow introduction which presents shadows of the themes which are to form the real argument. After a stormy C minor section, we reach C major with a glorious horn melody, echoed by the flute. A solemn chorale on the trombones (Brahms has kept them in reserve for this moment) leads into the main allegro section, whose noble melody bears a passing resemblance to the "Ode to Joy" theme from Beethoven's Choral symphony. The material is developed richly and with power and energy. Towards the end the tempo accelerates, and is only interrupted by a reprise of the trombone chorale - this time fortissimo on full orchestra - in its drive to an exultant conclusion.