The Haydn symphony numbered "24" comes from the period of the composer's patronage with Count Morzin of Bohemia. As with most from the era, there are but hints, if anything, indicative of the symphonic pioneer of his sixth and seventh decades. What does stand out as Haydnesque are the typical good nature and energy which are invested in the present work.

The symphony commences with a theme which conveys the impression that the orchestra has been playing for a while. The second theme has some of the elegance and veiled wistfulness of Haydn's younger colleague and friend, Mozart. The development is curiously intense, utilizing a persistent repetition foreshadowing Schumann and Bruckner. The second movement, bearing the designation Adagio, is a poetic and eloquent display piece for flute; the movement was written for Franz Sigl, recipient of the composer's lost flute concerto. The following minuet shows an inclination to the bucolic, albeit not yet in the rollicking Ländler idiom in which Haydn later delighted. The mercurial finale, a rondo, is developed from germinal themes and with fleet economy brings the work to happy finish.

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