Even among the lesser-known of Haydn's symphonies, No. 18 is one of the least performed or familiar. Its date, at least, is less nebulous as it is believed, despite the suggestively later number appended to it, to have been written between 1757 and 1761 during the composer's patronage under Count Morzin of Bohemia. As such it is pleasingly crafted and enjoyable, if not as innovative as the works which would follow. A product of the formative years of the symphony's evolution, the work is in three movements and finds the composer experimenting with the sequence and nature of the movements.

The andante march which opens the first movement is in the chiesa style, the exposition of the main theme initially delivered by the second violins; the leisurely canter is delightfully disrupted twice by outbursts of sixteenth notes. The allegro movement is in this case the central one, likewise of a genial nature, with the horn signals punctuating the work's progress. The minuet is distinctly in the "gallant" style, and possesses a touch of Handelian majesty. This, and its expanded size (somewhat implied by its tone), is calculated to provide a slightly weightier finale.

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