Last year the LA Phil left the Dorothy Chandler with a charming
performance of Haydn's "Farewell" symphony under Boulez.  Haydn is a
composer I haven't fallen in love with, except for his vocal works - I
enjoy both the "Seasons" and "Creation," the latter of which was part
of LA Phil's opening programs for Disney Hall, and I am not forgetting
the Masses, which I am just starting to know.

But late last night - or very early this morning - I woke up to the
radio that I had left on, and KUSC was playing a Haydn symphony - which
they do, by the way, at least twice a day. And as I struggled to decide
if I should get back to sleep or just wake up an hour earlier than I
need to, that Haydn symphony worked on my nerves no end.  It seems as
if I am just about never in the mood to hear a Haydn symphony over the
radio.  They neither captivate me or work very well as background music
- something annoys. I started to wonder what dumb nickname the Haydn
symphony on the radio had - and -

- so, with apologies to Haydn symphony lovers, I offer my David Letterman-
style rip-off Top Ten list of Undiscovered Haydn symphonies!  Their
nicknames are -

10.  The Umpteenth

9.   The Prosaique

8.   The Unmodulating

7.   The Chinese-Water Torture

6.   The Flea-bitten

5.   The Conundrum (short and yet much too long)

4.   The Yawn

3.   The "Hurry, Mozart"

2.   The Definite Article

and the number one undiscovered Haydn Symphony -

1.  The Not-Such-a-Surprise

Oh, well.  Hope there's a laugh or two in there for someone.  In a few
years I will probably love all the symphonies and be able to tell them
each apart after hearing just a few bars.

In the meanwhile, Disney Hall audiences are slowly becoming less noisy
and "touristy." We have some more Berlioz this weekend, and then some
visiting conductors, including Dohnanyi and Gergiev.

And as I type this after 6PM Monday, KUSC is playing - you guessed it -
a Haydn symphony.  The Military.

I was really in the mood for the "Flea-bitten."

C Mullins