Haydn's Symphony no. 13 in D was written in 1763 for Prince Nikolaus Esterházy, his patron. A typical symphony at this time was written for a pairs of oboes and horns and string instruments, but the Eisenstadt orchestra had recently taken on two new horn players, and Haydn wrote this symphony for an expanded ensemble of one flute, two oboes, four horns, timpani, bassoon, and strings. The timpani part in the autograph score is not in Haydn's hand, but it is quite possibly authentic: he may have written it on a separate sheet, with somebody else adding it to the score at a later date. A typical performance of the whole piece lasts a little over twenty minutes.
