Haydn's "Sturm und Drang" period of the late 1760s and early 1770s produced a number of his most memorable works such as the "Farewell" Symphony (No. 45). Thereafter comes a stretch when the composer was less prolific as a symphonist, to some extent feeling his way along the path leading up to the strongly characterized and memorable "London" symphonies (Nos. 93-104), including such well-known gems as the "Surprise." The works from this "in-between" phase haven't gained the concert-hall currency of their earlier and later rivals. But they still provide healthy doses of rewarding listening, along with occasional reminiscences of things past and hints of things yet to come.

Such is the case with the Symphony No. 61 in D major, which dates from the same year that a rag-tag collection of colonies along the western shore of the Atlantic declared independence from the British crown. It's scored for a fairly modest orchestra consisting of a single flute; pairs of oboes, bassoons, and horns; tympani; and the usual strings.

The opening movement is marked vivace and begins with a single forte chord, leading into a gently energetic main theme given out first by the strings alone, then reiterated with embellishment from the winds. A secondary theme in the solo flute is preceded by a "clucking" accompaniment figure in the winds, foreshadowing the later "Hen" Symphony (No. 83) of 1785. The movement's central development section also features the solo flute, and closes with a forte episode in the minor mode—"Sturm und Drang" remembered—before the closing recapitulation section in which the primary thematic material is re-stated.

The beginning of the adagio slow movement has an air both gentle and inquisitive; then a long-breathed melody in the violins, over an undulating accompaniment from the lower strings, moves the proceedings forward. The other principal theme of this movement is a "sighing" downward figure in the winds, which was later to re-appear essentially unchanged in the "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" section of Haydn's Seven Last Words of Christ.

The stately minuet of this symphony is not far removed from its courtly origins. But it's here of all places that the "trickster" Haydn of the "Surprise" Symphony puts in an appearance, in the form of a pregnant measure-long pause that interrupts the movement's progress just before the central trio section. The latter features a solo oboe, which even gets to play a tiny wisp of a cadenza. The bustling finale is a brief rondo, in which the opening theme recurs at intervals as a refrain between contrasting episodes. Here—recalling both the first and second movements—the first of those episodes is an imposing one cast in the minor mode, while the theme itself is punctuated by impudent "chirps" from the two oboes. One commentator aptly characterizes this movement as "a marvelous résumé of the play between comic and lyric that pervades the entire symphony."

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