Symphony No. 91 in E-flat, Hob.I: 91

Count d'Ogny commissioned Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) to write three symphonies for the Concert de la Loge Olympique, which was then recognized as one of the finest orchestras in Europe.  He completed the second of these, the SYMPHONY No. 91 in E flat major, Hob. I/91, in 1788.  It received its premiere the next year in the Tuileries Palace gardens, mere months before King Louis XVI and his royal family came to live there under custody of the French Revolution.  It is his last symphony to exclude trumpets and timpani, but stuffed with delicacies that would have appealed to its Parisian audience.  Its graceful, ebullient character offers no hints of the hard misfortune that would soon fall on the aristocratic listeners who first enjoyed this charming work. Instrumentation: 1.2.0.2: 2.0.0.0: Str (4-4-3-3-3 in set).