Haydn’s Surprise Symphony is the second of his twelve London Symphonies. It premiered to phenomenal reviews due in large part to the innovative style in which he laid out his symphony. While commonplace now, Haydn opened with a lively movement, complete with several contrasting themes; this was followed by a slower movement which contained the titular surprise moment: a startlingly loud fortissimo chord in the midst of an otherwise peaceful moment; the third movement featured a dance-like style, in this case a predecessor for the waltz known as the minuet; finally the closing movement contains a brisk pace and driving conclusion to this phenomenal work.