[1] The premiere was given by the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra in Leningrad conducted by Vladimir Altschuler with Oleg Popkov as reciter on 1 October 1987.
It is scored for: groups of five oboes, trumpets, and double basses; a trombone; three tubas; two bass drums and tenor drums; piano; and a solo voice (reciter), which appeals in speech in Russian for salvation.
The symphony is based on the texts of the 11th-century German monk and musician Hermanus Contractus: the reciter repeating the invocation "Almighty, True God, Father of Eternal Life, Creator of the World, save us".
[2] Ustvolskaya noted that there was an error in the published score - an incorrect piano glissando in bar 88 - which persisted despite her request for it to be corrected.
[3] Megadisc Classics - Oleg Malov (reciter), Ural Philharmonic Orchestra, Dmitry Liss (conductor)