Stirling Newberry:

>One magic moment is in the allegro of the Haydn Symphony #39.  It is
>a rest.  That's right, a rest as one of the magic moments of music.

Stirling's post made me enthusiastic about listening to some of the
earlier Haydn symphonies.  I hadn't heard #39 in a long time and it
sounded beautifully fresh - I tried to imagine how it might have sounded
to its first audience.  It's also one of the handful of Haydn symphonies
in a minor key which adds to the effect of his innovation.

Someone recently expressed the opinion that Haydn's best symphonies are
82 onwards.  I have a number from before that which I really like - 40,
43, 45, 48, 53, 57, 60, 61, 63, 71, 73, and that's just on a quick thought.
Some time ago, I mentioned #71 in particular because of what sounds like
a very strange key in the last movement, but it seems to be one that is
rarely recorded.  Maybe Naxos will eventually get to it.  Anyway, let's
hear it for the "other" Haydn symphonies - there's some great stuff there!

Richard Pennycuick
[log in to unmask]