The first volume to appear in the five-volume magnum opus of A. Peter Brown, this work sets a new standard for writing about the symphonies of Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, and Schubert. Now a single source provides up-to-date overviews of the status of research, former or present questions of attribution, discussion of stylistic traits, background material on the musical context of composition and early performances, as well as samplings from the early reception of works that we now call classics.