Although its date of 1763 is beyond question, owing to the same appearing on the autograph score, the actual numeration of Haydn?s Symphony no. 40 is curiously anachronistic. The date would place this sunny work in the company of a number of minor-key ?Sturm und Drang? works including the ?Trauer? symphony. It?s undisputed date places it with the cheery period of early Esterhazy patronage.



Even when there is nothing particulary innovative in one of Haydn?s scores, the ever-present good nature and craftsmanship provide a pleasant offering. The opening movement is quite standard sonata, the opening theme featuring an octave leap, the second likewise marked by wide intervals. The following andante is actually more brisk in tempo, an example of the charming, easeful walking movement to which Haydn was often to return. The minuet is the courtly gallant style, the turns of phrase most evocative of the era; the horn-dominated trio is perhaps a brief saunter from the ballroom to the open air. In contrast to the other movements, the final, from the very start plunges right into contrapuntal process, conveying the impression that the music has been going on for some time. No theme as such is readily discernable in the fugal fabric; instead here is an image a young composer taking delight in his freshly developing skills. In this mere three-odd minutes a sense of grandeur and even spaciousness is implied, and as such can dwarf many a longer exercise in fugal procedure.



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