Its world premiere took place in Munich on 26 October 1937, with Edwin Fischer as soloist; Furtwängler conducted the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra.
In January 1939 there was a radio broadcast which has survived as the only complete recording of the original version of the concerto.
A second movement follows, an Adagio solenne in D major influenced by Bruckner and Brahms; and lasting approximately 11 minutes.
As a result of its ambivalent reception and technical difficulty, Furtwängler's Symphonic Concerto has rarely been performed in public.
Other notable champions of the work have included Paul Badura-Skoda, Daniel Barenboim, Konstantin Scherbakov, Gerhard Oppitz, Erik Then-Bergh, Gergely Boganyi, Dagmar Bella, Walter Prossnitz, Johannes Bork, Homero Francesch, Hirokuni Ishikawa, Takahiro Sonoda, András Schiff, David Lively, and Stephan Möller.