Haydn’s Symphony No. 48 was long thought to have been written for, and performed in honour of the state visit of Empress Maria Theresia to Eszterháza in 1773. However, research by Robbins Landon has shown that the symphony should be redated to 1770. Landon rightly comments that although the accepted soubriquet may be mistaken, the message is right, for in its magnificence it is a ‘Symphony for Queens and Emperors’.

Here in a keyboard arrangement by Carl David Stegmann.

 Music example (pdf)