The Symphony No. 3 in D minor by Gustav Mahler was written between 1893 and 1896. It is his longest piece, with a typical performance lasting around 95 minutes.

As is usual in Mahler, the piece is written for a large orchestra, consisting of four flutes and piccolos, four oboes, cor anglais, clarinets, bass clarinet, four bassoons, double bassoon, flugelhorn, eight French horns, four trumpets, four trombones, tuba, two sets of timpani, bass drum, cymbals, tamtam, triangle, snare drum, Rute, two glockenspiels, bells, two harps, organ, violins, violas, cellos, and double basses.

As in his Symphony No. 2, Mahler adds vocal forces to the later movements of the piece. The fourth movement is a song for alto, and the fifth movement adds a women's chorus and a boys' chorus.

In its final form, the work has six movements:

1. Kräftig entschieden (Strong and decisive)
2. Tempo di Menuetto (In the tempo of a minuet)
3. Comodo (Scherzando) (Comfortably, like a scherzo)
4. Sehr langsam--Misterioso (Very slowly, misteriously)
5. Lustig im Tempo und keck im Ausdruck (Happy in tempo and bold in expression)
6. Langsam--Ruhevoll--Empfunden (Slowly, tranquil, deeply felt)

As with each of his first four symphonies, Mahler originally provided a programme of sorts to explain the narrative of the piece. In the third symphony this took the form of titles for each movement:

1. "Pan Awakes, Summer Marches In"
2. "What the Flowers of the Meadow Tell Me"
3. "What the Creatures of the Forest Tell Me"
4. "What Man Tells Me"
5. "What the Angels Tell Me"
6. "What Love Tells Me"

All these titles were dropped before publication in 1898.

There was originally a seventh movement, "What the Child Tells Me", but this was eventually dropped, becoming instead the last movement of the Symphony No. 4.

The third movement quotes extensively from Mahler's early song "Ablösung im Sommer". The fourth is a setting of Friedrich Nietzsche's "Midnight Song" from Also sprach Zarathustra, while the fifth, "Es sungen drei Engel", is one of Mahler's Des Knaben Wunderhorn songs.

The piece is rarely performed in concert, due in part to its great length and the huge ensemble required. When it is performed, a short interval is often taken between the first movement (which alone lasts around half an hour) and the rest of the piece. Despite this, it is a popular work and has been recorded by most major orchestras and conductors. One notable recording was made in quadraphonic stereo by the Utah Symphony under Maurice Abravanel in the acoustically-remarkable Mormon Tabernacle in Salt Lake City, Utah. The final movement was used as background music in one episode of the 1984 television series, "Call to Glory".

The second movement of this work was arranged by Benjamin Britten for a smaller orchestra, a version published by Boosey and Hawkes in 1950.

First performances

• First performance of second, third and sixth movements only: 1897, Berlin, conducted by Felix Weingartner.
• First performance of the complete symphony: June 9, 1902, Krefeld, conducted by the composer.
• First American performance: February 8, 1922, New York City, conducted by Willem Mengelberg.
• First English performance (BBC broadcast): November 29, 1947, BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Adrian Boult.
• First English concert performance: February 28, 1961, St Pancras, conducted by Bryan Fairfax .