[2][4] The symphony had its Polish premiere in January 1911, where it was presented to celebrate the centenary of the birth of Frédéric Chopin, conducted by Paderewski's devoted friend Henryk Opieński.
To mark the 70th anniversary of the composer's death, it was performed in June 2011 at the Polish Presidential Palace under the patronage of President Bronisław Komorowski, by Sinfonia Varsovia under Jerzy Maksymiuk.
It is lush and romantic in texture, leading to comparisons with the music of Liszt, Tchaikovsky, Sibelius, Rachmaninoff,[2] Mahler,[8] Scriabin, Glazunov, Balakirev, Myaskovsky, Korngold,[7] Glière,[9] Elgar, Rimsky-Korsakov, Richard Strauss, and even a precursor of Shostakovich.
The full instrumentation is: piccolo, 3 flutes, 2 oboes, English horn, 2 clarinets in A, bass clarinet in A, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns in F, 4 trumpets in F, 3 trombones, tuba, 3 contrabass sarrusophones in E♭, timpani, percussion (triangle, cymbals, tambour, tambour de Basque, tam-tam, glockenspiel, thunder sheet), harp, organ and strings.
[10] The finale contains a disguised quotation of the Polish national anthem, Jeszcze Polska nie zginęła (Poland Is Not Yet Lost), in duple meter rather than the original's triple-time mazurka rhythm.