Composed over a six month period (October 1906 to April 1907), Rachmaninoff's second excursion into symphonic form was written at a time when he was still not entirely confident in his abilities to handle the genre. Unhappy with the first draft, the work was subjected to much revision for several months after its completion. The premiere, given on January 26, 1908 in St. Petersburg's Mariinsky Theatre with the composer conducting, received tumultuous applause from the delighted audience. The work gained much popularity soon after and remains a staple of the orchestral repertoire to this day.

Editors Clinton F. Nieweg and Christopher R. Morgan have consulted all available sources in course of preparing their edition of this cornerstone work. Originally issued in 2011 by the now-defunct publisher E. F. Kalmus, this superb edition is now available from Serenissima Music as a large conductor score and orchestral parts aling with the study score offered here.