The word "symphony" had various meanings before it became fixed as a name for the highest form of instrumental music. It was, however, generally understood to signify an overture, and its closest connection was with the opera. Originally it was merely a notification to the audience that the opera was about to begin; an appeal for silence and to concentrate attention on the coming entrance of the singers. The French "symphony," as exemplified by Lully, opened with a slow movement followed by an allegro, frequently in fugue form, and passed again into an adagio which ended the overture. The Italian symphony consisted of three movements, the first of which was a moderate allegro, the second an adagio, and the last a livelier and lighter allegro; and the Italian overture, as will be seen, became the foundation of the modern symphony as far as the positions of the movements are concerned. Before Haydn, Stamitz, Abel, J. C. Bach and Wagenseil, as well as Emanuel Bach, had written symphonies, and a symphony by Stamitz, in D, is peculiarly interesting, inasmuch as its form is completely in accordance with that which was established permanently by Haydn. The opening movement is an Allegro, with the familiar double bar with the repeats and the binary form. The second movement is an Andante in the dominant; the third is a Minuet that has even the Trio, and the finale is a Presto. The clavier sonatas of Ph. Emanuel Bach congealed this form and had a permanent influence on it, in the impression they made upon Haydn, who, by his mastery of his art, his amazing fecundity in invention and his unflagging productive powers, was enabled to increase the scope and aim of this form so greatly as to entitle him to be recognized as the creator of the symphony. Haydn's first symphony was written in 1759, for Count Morzin. We are unaware of any printed copy of it in this country. Pohl describes it as a slight work in three movements for two violins, viola, bass, two oboes and two horns. It appears to be modelled on the symphonies of Stamitz, Abel and John Christian Bach. The symphonies that followed differed but little in character from this one and afford little if any insight into Haydn's influence on the symphonic form. He appears to have followed in the footsteps of his predecessors, curiously enough, ignoring the symphonies of Emanuel Bach. The orchestration is meagre and conventional, the violins are almost constantly playing, and the wind is only used to duplicate them. It is not until we come to the first symphony composed by him at Eisenstadt that we see him as an innovator. This work is in C-major, and is generally known as "Le Matin." It is in four movements and begins with a few bars of adagio. The opening allegro is remarkable for its variety of subjects and their treatment, and for the careful manner in which it worked out. Between this movement and the adagio is a long dramatic recitative for the violin, very impressive, but having no discoverable connection with what precedes or what follows it. In breadth, dignity, and expressiveness it surpasses anything that the composer had hitherto produced. From this time forth the symphony steadily grew under Haydn's hands; the form was enlarged, the orchestration was varied, the timbres of the different instruments were studied and instrumental effects gradually assumed an importance that increased with each succeeding symphony. But his greatest symphonies were not written until the period of the Salomon concerts. In the meanwhile Mozart had appeared upon the scene. Haydn's first symphony was produced when Mozart was three years old, and the latter died in the very year in which Haydn's connection with the Salomon concerts began. That Haydn influenced Mozart's early works is beyond question; that Mozart in turn, influenced Haydn later, is equally indisputable.