Fairly passable. Haydn phoning it in, no major stylistic tics or inventions. 82. Symphony No. 16 Theres an impressive cello moment here in the middle movement that earmarks the instrument as one of Haydns favourites.

To my colleagues, I apologise for your having to sit next to this.

At this relatively early stage in his career, Haydn clearly knows what hes doing and is still smashing out melodies like theres no tomorrow, his symphonies are becoming interchangeable.

Honestly, swap a movement out for another one from Symphony No.

Literally no-one would notice.

Symphony No. 15 Real talk: the opening to this symphony is deathly.

Shouldve stayed in the desk-drawer.

Symphony No. 12 You could describe the opening movement as a fun bit of fluff and everything after it composing-by-numbers, especially the ponderous second movement.

Not without interest, but theres so much better to come.

Symphony No. 32 Early-mid-period filler.

Skip over. 99. Symphony No.

After a subdued opening and some neat, wincingly high horn entries, this one sort-of fails to go anywhere.

It is a delight to listen to, sure, but its an ephemeral pleasure that doesnt last as long as it might.

An early sign of huge promise, but one that lacks maturity.

Symphony No. 36 Not a classic.

Winsome and pleasant enough, but it suffers from another quite tawdry slow movement.

Symphony No. 62 Allow it to wash over you and youll be fine.

Try to remember any of the melodies and youll be staring into the void.

Tepid. 96. Symphony No.

The symphonies that open in slow tempo tend to fall into two camps when it comes to Haydn - spectral beauty, or a meandering plod.

Its difficult to establish any kind of momentum, but there are chunks of the final movement that elevate the whole work higher than a complete throwaway.

Almost exactly the same opening as No.

BANG-quiet, BANG-quiet).

Despite these annoyances, theres some proto-Mozart string work going on here, especially in the first movement.

The second movement is, however, an absolutely transparent whopper.

Symphony No. 23 More auto-pilot.

Perhaps the most fun to be had with this one is to count the five-note semiquaver runs in the second movement.

Either side of that, not much.

Disappointing. 91.

Symphony No. 37 Another chronologically mislabeled symphony.

Do not be fooled: its a fairly boring early one.

Symphony No. 50 After a run of some really strong symphonies throughout the 40s, no.

Still, it was only his first (numbered) stab at a symphony, so well forgive.

Unless you look a bit more closely at the chronology of what was composed when, in which case that argument falls apart.

No-ones here for accuracy.

Symphony No. 41 A grind.

Why wont he let rip Theres potential in the first movement, pent-up energy, even, but Haydn just wont open up in the same way he does in, say, 39 or 26.

Symphony No. 56 One of Haydns longest at over half an hour, but does he manage to fill it with enough decent tunes Well aside from some neat and intricate small ensemble work in the third movement, theres not a whole lot to write home about in 56.

Theres nothing wrong with it, but its one of the most inconspicuous.

Nice melodies, the odd rhythmic tweak or structural innovation, but nothing more.

Symphony No. 68 Haydn the joker returns, mucking about with accents in the minuet and trio to give the illusion of a wonky downbeat.

Trouble is, when he gets preoccupied with these little games, it can detract from the impact of the symphony as a whole, leaving one with little memory of the main themes.

Symphony No. 24 Woodwind to the fore here, but Haydn hadnt really worked out quite what to do with them all at this point in his career.

So while its entertaining to hear them fight it out with the strings for most important section, its a bit confusing.

Symphony No. 40 Numbered 40, but actually dates from the early teens.

Fairly passable. Haydn phoning it in, no major stylistic tics or inventions.

Symphony No. 16 Theres an impressive cello moment here in the middle movement that earmarks the instrument as one of Haydns favourites.

Haydn Symphony 102