Before Joseph Haydn wrote his first symphony, he had already made a reputation for himself as a composer with a string of harpsichord sonatas, harpsichord and organ concertos, various divertimenti and sacred music for the voice. realtively speaking , he came quite late to the symphony. Nevertheless, he was to complete more than a hundred works in this genre during the 36 years which lay between his first symphony and his great ‘London’ Symphony.