He was born on January 13, 1866, in Voyny, near Mtsensk, now in Oryol Oblast. He studied at the Oryol Seminary, where he conducted the choir from the age of fourteen. He later moved to Moscow to attend the conservatory but could not afford the tuition. He received a scholarship to attend the Moscow Philharmonic School, where he studied composition and bassoon. He played timpani, bassoon, and violin in theater orchestras and worked as a copyist to supplement his income.
In 1892, Tchaikovsky recommended Kalinnikov to the directors of the Maly Theater and the Italian Theater in Moscow. However, suffering from tuberculosis, Kalinnikov had to leave these posts and move to Crimea. He lived in Yalta for the rest of his life, and it was there that he wrote most of his musical compositions, including two symphonies and the incidental music for Tsar Boris by the playwright Alexei Tolstoy (Leo Tolstoy's cousin).
His Symphony No. 1 in G minor, written between 1894 and 1895, which employs the cyclical form, brought him success. It was performed in Kyiv on February 20, 1897, and then in Berlin, Vienna, Moscow, and Paris during the composer's lifetime. However, it was not published until after his death. The royalties contributed to the support of Kalinnikov's widow. It was with the help of Sergei Rachmaninoff that Kalinnikov managed to sell three of his songs to Jurgenson, who also published Tchaikovsky, for 120 rubles. Jurgenson later also published Symphony No. 2 in A major.
He died of tuberculosis on January 11, 1901, a few days before his thirty-fifth birthday.
The symphony is in four movements:
Allegro moderato (G minor)
Andante comodo (E flat major)
Scherzo: Allegro non troppo (C major)
Finale: Allegro moderato (G major)
The first movement is in sonata form and opens with the central theme played in unison by the strings. The second theme is also presented by the strings, with woodwinds in the background. The development section is contrapuntal in nature, reminiscent of the fugues composed by Kalinnikov in the 1880s. The second movement opens with an ostinato by the harp and the first violins that flow into a solo by the English horn with violas. Then, the central theme of the movement is played by the oboe on plucked strings. The third movement, a scherzo, incorporates influences and melodies from Russian folk music and features a trio played by the winds. The finale opens with the main theme of the first movement before revisiting and transforming the themes of all the previous movements, as well as incorporating new themes derived from the old ones. The symphony concludes with a triumphal finale played by the full orchestra. A typical performance lasts about 40 minutes.