Its BBC Proms premiere was given by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra on 21 August 1967 under the conductor Charles Groves.
The US premiere was given by the Oklahoma City Symphony Orchestra on 8 December 1974 under its then music director, Ainslee Cox.
There is a sort of scherzo section in the middle, and the music is always developing, with motives evolving and increasing in familiarity.
The movement eventually climaxes, and at this point a great fortissimo blaze on the dominant seventh of C major is played from the orchestra.
5, both performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Vernon Handley, was recorded on 24 May 1994 and released later that year;[1] in 2006 it was re-released as part of a Hyperion boxed set of Simpson's complete symphonies.