In the early part of the 19th century, Haydn’s former pupil Ignaz Pleyel was the most popular composer in Europe. The three symphonies on this recording, written during Pleyel’s most fertile period as a composer, when he had not yet turned 30, are the assured, confident creations of a young, gifted and ambitious composer. They feature two powerful minor key symphonies reminiscent of Haydn’s so called Sturm und Drang symphonies from the 1770s, while the Symphony in C major includes one of Pleyel’s most beautiful slow movements.