Of Haydn's Symphony No. 11, little is known save for its dating from the period of the composer's employ with Count Morzin, a time which was to come to an end with the onset of financially pressed times for the Bohemian noble. As with most symphonies from that period, Haydn scored the present work for strings and a pair of winds, in this case horns. The spartan scoring of this era may have been prophetic of the Count's necessitated disbandment of the orchestra. In any case, the symphony is one of the early examples of a four-movement work, making a novel departure in its placement of the slow-movement first.

The surprisingly long-spanned (almost equal in length to the following three movements combined) slow movement which opens No. 11 is an air aptly designated "andante cantabile"; of great beauty, even spirituality, it may not be too much to suggest that it could have come from the pen of the father Bach had his lifespan found him a few more years along. Indeed, one almost has the impression that order has been mistakenly reversed by the energetic allegro which follows, a movement enjoyable if not particularly innovative. Likewise, the following minuet and trio are conventional yet charming, the former seasoned by occasional syncopation. The finale, typically spry, also features a syncopated main theme which is derived from inverting the main theme of the second movement.

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