The premiere of this symphony, conducted by the composer's friend Felix Otto Dessoff, occurred on 4 November 1876, in Karlsruhe, then in the Grand Duchy of Baden.

In September of that year, he sent a card to his lifelong friend Clara Schumann sketching the Alphorn tune which would emerge in the symphony's Finale, along with the famous message "Thus blew the shepherd's horn today!"

The symphony is scored for two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, contrabassoon, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones (fourth movement only), timpani and the string section.

After a processional "poco sostenuto" opening section featuring chaotic syncopated rhythms underpinned by pulsating timpani, the woodwinds and pizzicato strings play with thematic phrases to be fully explored in the following exposition.

The exposition begins abruptly, echoing the introduction's plucked final note with an orchestral exclamation, followed by a short motto which leads to the main theme, which is initially played, stridently, by the violins.

This theme, which is related to the motto used to open the movement, is carried out in the wind section, led by oboe and clarinet with support from the bassoon and eventually the French horns.

The action in the development section begins with a full step descent into B major, and instability ensues as interplay between the "eroica" motif and phrases from the original theme are played off each other.

Starting with a murky rumble in the basses, the music gathers strength with a thrilling set of arpeggios in the violins with support from the brass, which repeat the "eroica" motif with great alacrity.

A somewhat nebulous start to the recapitulation is followed by a foreshortened restatement of the first theme, allowing the music to proceed in the tonic, rather than taking up the tonal progressions originally followed in the exposition.

After a series of passages which parallel—but do not echo—the opening A section, the principal violin enters with a rendition of the first oboe theme, this time with soft accompaniment from the horns.

The B theme enters in measure 11 and features a descending dotted-eighth-note pattern in the flute, clarinet, and bassoon with the strings echoing the rhythm in rising and falling figures.

After eight measures, A1 appears with the violins iterating the first theme and a longer, chromatic bridge section that extends the phrase structure to seven bars.

The extended introduction begins with a murky and ominous descending four-note sequence in the strings, which is followed by a tragically rendered "anticipation" of the movement's joyous 'Alphorn' theme.

[3] This is followed by a passage of pizzicato string notes, plucked in two-note groups passed between the high- and low-pitched instrument sections, which rises in tempo and volume until the prior tragic theme re-emerges in a short reprise.

The horns, including the first entry of the trombones, introduce the Alphorn theme with a "noble and grand presentation" over a "shimmering cloudscape" of strings,[3] in "one of the classic orchestral moments of the nineteenth century".

The first three notes of the Alphorn theme create are presented in a swelling crescendo which resolves in a drawn out conclusion over pounding timpani followed by a quiet chord dying in the brass.

A passage led by arpeggio strings accompanied by bassoon and contrabassoon follows, including a brief variation of the Alphorn tune leading directly to the second theme.

After an energetic transitional passage in the strings, the oboe continues with an inverted variation of the theme in G major but eventually modulates to E minor, leading to the conclusion of the exposition.

This return of the main theme is 'richly scored', with full strings carrying the tune supported by 'punctuating chords' in the winds and gently rolling timpani.

The oboe leads a transition to E-flat and a development-heavy section marked by key instability and fragmented restatements and elaborations of phrases in the melody.

An energetic restatement of the theme by the orchestra follows, but this quickly digresses into a section marked by string arpeggios and the arrival of a new thematic element for further development.

A distinctive 'turning' motif, derived from the main theme, appears in the winds, traded between flute and oboe with lush string harmony accompaniment.

[3] The turning motif returns in a thrilling rendition led by the horns, followed by a nearly unrecognizable recapitulation of the first theme, with powerful syncopated descending figures which are traded between the strings and the wind instruments, over a bassline that is based on the "famous, grandly striding tune".

The music begins to lose momentum as the strings play a descending procession that sounds as if it may lead to closing material for the section.

However, after the theme's restatement is complete, a subtle change in the final passage avoids the key modulation taken in the exposition section, which allows the recapitulation to end in C minor.

A lengthy coda follows without pause, which returns to C major, restates the chorale from the introduction, and ends with a triumphant pair of plagal cadences.

The former comparison rather annoyed Brahms; he felt that it amounted to an accusation of plagiarism, whereas he saw his use of Beethoven's idiom in this symphony as an act of conscious homage.

The Allegro section of the movement is a large orchestral sonata, wherein musical ideas are stated, developed, and restated with altered relationships among them.

[1] In the Più andante section, the horns and timpani introduce a tune that Brahms heard from an Alpine shepherd with the words, "High on the hill, deep in the dale, I send you a thousand greetings!