The Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra premiered the work on 8 April 1975 in Helsinki, under the direction of its principal conductor, Okko Kamu.
The symphony was the first by Sallinen to depart from the single-movement structure he had utilized for his previous two essays in the form.
3 has received two recordings, the first of which is from 1975 with Okko Kamu conducting the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra on the BIS label.
Finnish conductor Ari Rasilainen has also recorded the symphony as part of cpo's compendium of Sallinen's orchestral works.
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