If you count decades and centuries actually beginning with years ending in "1," then this symphony is the first Haydn began in the decade of the 1770s. This observation is fitting because in the symphony Haydn finds a new sense of poise and sureness in his symphonies, a relaxed feeling that erases any feeling that formal "rules" are being followed.

The lively key of D Major is the favorite of the strings, which as a group sound at their brightest in D. It is likely that from Haydn's time to our own more "happy" symphonies are in this key than any other.

And this is not only a happy but a downright jolly symphony. It starts right off with a humorous decoration followed by a flowing melody. This decoration (a series of acciaccaturas, to be technical - we'll explain at the end) is comically dwelt on for a while, triplets kick the rhythm up another notch, and the movement sounds in general like an Italian comic opera overture. The horns have a pompous walking bass line while a bassoon honks along. Surely this is music for the wealthy old man who is going to lose the girl.

The second movement is marked "Andante e cantabile," and the melody this marking promises sounds like a gentle folk song. The minuet is witty. In the lovely Trio, the violins imitate the sound of distant trumpet fanfares.

In the final movement, Haydn uses for the first time a rondo structure in a symphony. (this means that the first theme keeps coming back around, with contrasting themes in between its returns. The theme, moreover, is excellent. It imprints itself on the memory immediately. Haydn's decision to use this form here had far-reaching consequences: Not only Haydn but hundreds of other symphonic composers have made this form the most likely structure for a symphonic finale. At one point Haydn suddenly starts writing independent parts for a pair of oboes for sixteen measures. It must be that the second oboe was doubling the bass line all along. (Haydn, a practical musician, notes that the second part can be taken by a cello is there is no second bassoon.)

O.K.: So an acciacatura (Ah-chya-kah-TOOR-ah) - the Italian word means "crushed" - is when you play a dissonant neighboring note at the same time as the main note, usually on the beat, and then let the dissonance go immediately. The dissonance sounds like it's been crushed into the main note.

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