The Station Orchestra, conducted by Warwick Braithwaite

Haydn was fond of giving titles to his Symphonies, such as The Hen, The Philosopher, The Queen of France, The Bear, and so on, and he wrote so many (over a hundred and fifty) of them that even when he did not give them names, we have found it convenient to do so, in order to distinguish one from another. We call this 'The Drum-Roll' Symphony because it opens with a kettledrum rumble-a sort of call to attention. (Its key is E Flat, and its number in the new Breitkopf Edition is 103).
The work is planned in the usual four Movements, and the chief point of distinction in it is that in every Movement at least one of the Main Tunes is a folk-song of Haydn's native Croatia; and very jolly tunes most of them are. Listen, for instance, to that dainty pair that dance into the First Movement one after another and substitute themselves leaders in its game-a game that sounds so simple that you would think anyone could keep it going, but that is really so finely and scientifically put together.
A serious Second Movement, consisting of a short series of Variations on a theme, follows; then there is a dainty, prim little Minuet (with a middle part that seems to have escaped from the governess' eye and sought a quiet corner, for a flirtation, perhaps?); and a lively Last Movement, splendidly engineered, and sounding perfectly spontaneous and immensely contented.