Symphony no. 31 in D major 'Hornsignal', Hob. I:31
Haydn's Symphony No. 31 in D was written in 1765 for Haydn's patron Nikolaus Esterházy. It is nicknamed the Hornsignal symphony, because it gives a prominent role to an unusually large horn section for the time, i.e. four players. Because of its prominent obbligato writing, Sieber published this work as a "symphonie concertante". The Hornsignal was written to celebrate the restitution of Esterhazy's horn section to its full lineup of four players. The work is scored for one flute, two oboes, four horns, and strings. Given the amount of strings player used by Haydn, the imbalance would have been impressive. The work is in four movements.
