Only eleven of the over one hundred symphonies by Joseph Haydn are composed in a minor key. Written in the early 1770s, the Symphony Hob. I:52 in C minor bears some similarities to the slightly earlier Symphony in E minor Hob. I:44 (“Mourning”, BA 10988), not only because they both are composed in a minor key but also because they both feature a pair of horns tuned at different pitches. Haydn seems to have experimented with differently tuned horns inspired by an article in Johann Adam Hiller’s journal “Musikalische Nachrichten und Anmerkungen” of July 1770, which suggested to tune the horns a minor third apart in order to expand the total horn range. While Haydn followed this recommendation just like that in the E-minor symphony, he chose to have the horns tuned a major sixth apart (high C and E-flat) in the outer movements of the C-minor symphony Hob. I:52, resulting in an unusual horn sound within the orchestral texture.

In continuation of the collaboration between Bärenreiter and G. Henle Verlag, this edition is based on the Urtext of the Complete Edition “Joseph Haydn Works” published by G. Henle Verlag.