Many of the trios featured in this boxed set testify to Haydn's new interest in the wind instrument, known instead as one of the absolute masters of the string quartet. They were either originally conceived in this way, or transcribed in his own hand, or were published for the first time in England. Could he have intended this choice to honour the particular taste shown for this instrument by London's aristocratic milieu?... This hypothesis is highly admissible: the transverse flute, in fact, before the great changes in its construction pushed it out of the catalogues of most of the great composers, had ardent followers, including King Frederick II of Prussia, himself a remarkable flautist... And while the difficulty of performance and the originality of the language of these trios may have baffled some performers of the time, they delighted instrumentalists (and composers) justly renowned for their virtuosity, such as the violinist Gaviniès in France and the flautist Tromlitz and the violinist Stamitz in Germany.

The music of these nineteen trios is full of wit, verve and agility, tenderness and restrained passion.