Among the first works Haydn wrote upon entering the service of the Esterházy family, the sixth, seventh, and eighth symphonies form a triptych depicting different times of day. At least that's how Prince Paul Anton Esterházy interpreted them when he suggested their subtitles. Haydn's main intention seemed to be showing off the skills of his musicians, for each symphony abounds with prominent solos.

No. 6, "Le Matin" ("Morning"), begins with an Adagio introduction that seems to depict a sunrise, coming up from nothing, rising in volume and pitch, and then subsiding. The main Allegro begins with a quick flute theme, followed by manic passagework for the strings with tiny interjections from the various wind soloists. The development is largely a matter of fast vibration in the strings, with the winds trying to smooth things out with the opening flute tune. The Adagio movement falls into three parts, the first—again—rising slowly out of nothing into a little violin cadenza. The concertmaster plays a patiently ascending theme derived from the opening bars, and then, in the movement's second section, offers a more ornate melody with subdued orchestral accompaniment. This melody eventually becomes a duet with the first cello. The brief third section is a mirror image of the first, the movement descending gently into silence. Some commentators have interpreted these closing bars as an homage to Corelli, and aome have suggested that this movement is a portrait of a music lesson, with the Esterházy orchestra's violinist Luigi Tomasini performing scales and other exercises; the violin is in fact so prominent here that one could almost mistake this for a portion of one of the violin concertos that Haydn wrote for Tomasini a few years later. The French-style Minuet features an elegant flute solo, which is eventually echoed by the oboes and horns. The trio section descends to the bottom of the orchestra for a witty if subdued dialogue between the bassoon and double bass. A Baroque concerto grosso seems to take over during the final, compact Allegro movement, which lavishes brief, burbling concertante roles on almost every principal player in turn.

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