Haydn: Symphony No. 94 in G major "Surprise Symphony" (with Score)

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Joseph Haydn:
Symphony No. 94 in G major, Hob.I:94 "Surprise Symphony" (with Score)
Composed: 1791
Conductor: Georg Solti
Orchestra: London Philharmonic Orchestra

00:00 1. Adagio – Vivace assai (G major)
08:25 2. Andante (C major)
14:12 3. Menuetto: Allegro molto (G major)
19:44 4. Finale: Allegro molto (G major)

Haydn wrote the symphony in 1791 in London for a concert series he gave during the first of his visits to England (1791–1792). The premiere took place at the Hanover Square Rooms in London on March 23, 1792, with Haydn leading the orchestra seated at a fortepiano.
Haydn's music contains many jokes, and the Surprise Symphony includes probably the most famous of all: a sudden fortissimo chord at the end of the otherwise piano opening theme in the variation-form second movement. The music then returns to its original quiet dynamic as if nothing has happened, and the ensuing variations do not repeat the joke. In German, the work is referred to as the Symphony mit dem Paukenschlag, or, with the kettledrum stroke.