The autograph score of Richard Strauss’ first surviving symphony, which he even considered giving an opus number (4) in the meantime, was completed on 17 October 1880. The premiere, relatively soon afterwards on 30 March 1881 in Munich’s Odeonssaal, was conducted by none other than Hermann Levi. The work was more than just a respectable success; the Münchner Neueste Nachrichten reported: “In the third subscription concert of the Musikalische Akademie, we heard a symphony by Richard Strauss in D minor as a novelty. On the occasion of the performance of his string quartet, we had already drawn attention to the significant talent of the composer, who was still at such a young age; the symphony also shows a very significant dexterity in the handling of the form and decisive skilfulness in the orchestration. However, this work does not yet reflect any real originality. But it shows in all parts a musical fantasy activity that is reproduced with great ease.” However, after completing his Symphony in F minor op. 12, he distanced himself from his first work even before its premiere; he wrote to his father on 11 February 1884: “Dear Dad! (…) I beg you not to send my first symphony anywhere, as I do not wish it to be performed.” The manuscript disappeared into the family archives, and only one further performance during Strauss’s lifetime is documented (on 5 January 1893). It was performed by the “Wilde Gung’l” orchestra association in Munich, to which Strauss gave the sole performance rights. Franz Strauss senior, who conducted this performance as chief conductor of the orchestra association, produced an ink copy for this purpose, also still with the opus number 4, although the composer had already reassigned this opus number in September 1884. The work was not printed until 1980. In his copy, Franz Strauss Sr. changed the movement designations as follows:
