There are 106 symphonies by the classical composer Joseph Haydn (1732–1809). Of these, 104 have numbers associated with them which were originally assigned by Eusebius Mandyczewski in 1908 in the chronological order that was known at the time.^[1] In the subsequent decades, numerous inaccuracies in the chronology (especially in the lower numbers) were found, but the Mandyczewski numbers were so widely used that when Anthony van Hoboken compiled his catalogue of Haydn's works, he incorporated the Mandyczewski number into Catalogue I (e.g., Symphony No. 34 is listed as Hob. I/34).^[1] Also in that time period, two additional symphonies were discovered (which were assigned non-Mandyczewskian letters "A" and "B"), bringing the total to 106.

Hoboken also includes four other works in his "Symphony" category (Hob. I):

• Hob. I/105 in B♭ major, better known as the Sinfonia Concertante for violin, cello, oboe and bassoon (1792)
• Hob. I/106 in D major, for which only one part has survived (1769?); sometimes used as the overture to Le pescatrici
• Hob. I/107 in B♭ major, often known not by a number but as Symphony A (between 1757 and 1760); arranged as string quartet op. 1, no. 5 Hob. III/5
• Hob. I/108 in B♭ major, often known not by a number but as Symphony B (between 1757 and 1760)

Despite this, the number of "symphonies" by Haydn is usually given as 106.^[2]

Several conductors recorded incomplete runs of the symphonies on LP, including two, Hermann Scherchen and Max Goberman, whose efforts have been reissued in all or part on CD. During the 1960's, Leslie Jones conducted some fifty of Haydn's symphonies together with The Little Orchestra of London. Although not using period instruments, Jones may have been one of the first conductors to use small scale forces.^[3] During the 1980s, Neville Marriner recorded the "name" symphonies (29 symphonies) with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields for Philips Classics. These include Nos. 6-8, 22, 26, 31, 43-45, 47-49, 53, 55, 59-60, 63, 69, 73, 82-83, 85, 92, 94, 96, 100-101, 103-104. They were originally released separately, then as a box set. Four conductors have recorded the complete symphonies of Joseph Haydn:

• Ernst Märzendorfer recorded a complete set with the Vienna Chamber Orchestra, but it was little known at the time due to limited US-only distribution.^[4]
• The first to make a complete recording that was widely available was the Hungarian-American conductor Antal Doráti, with the Philharmonia Hungarica for Decca during the 1970's, issued first on LP and subsequently on CD.
• Hungarian conductor Ádám Fischer recorded a complete CD cycle between 1987 and 2001 with the Austro-Hungarian Haydn Orchestra.
• In 2009, American conductor Dennis Russell Davies completed a cycle with the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra for Sony Classical.^[5]

Christopher Hogwood was to have recorded on period instruments a complete cycle of Haydn symphonies with the Academy of Ancient Music (AAM) for Decca's L'Oiseau Lyre imprint in a total of 15 volumes, each containing 3 CDs. Between 1990 and 2000, a total of 10 of these volumes were commercially released on CD; these volumes contain Nos. 1–75, plus the two early symphonies numbered 107 and 108, and are presented in a theoretical chronological rather than numerical order. The program booklets contained in each of these 10 volumes keep a concordance to the complete contents of the 15 volumes. Prior to the commencement of this project, Hogwood and the AAM had recorded four of Haydn's later symphonies (94, 96, 100, and 104) for L'Oiseau Lyre, which were released first on LP and later on CD. The last five of the 15-volume series were never released, although at least Nos. 76 and 77 were recorded and had a limited release on CD through BBC Music Magazine.

Between 1980 and 1986, the violinist Derek Solomons recorded on period instruments 49 symphonies with L'Estro Armonico for CBS Masterworks. These include Nos. 1-5, 10-11, 15-20, 26-27, 32-33, 35, 37-39, 41-52, 54-60, 63-69, 107-108.

Between 1989 and 1990, Trevor Pinnock recorded on period instruments the Sturm und Drang symphonies (19 symphonies) with The English Concert for Deutsche Grammophon's Archiv Produktion. These include Nos. 26, 35, 38-39, 41-52, 58-59, 65. In 1987, Pinnock had already recorded Nos. 6-8.

Also, in 1990, another attempt at a complete Haydn cycle on period instruments began with the Hanover Band led from the keyboard by Roy Goodman for Hyperion Records. Unfortunately, after releasing 57 symphonies on 17 CDs, this project ran out of funds in 1994.

There are two active attempts to record the complete cycle on period instruments. As of early 2015, Thomas Fey has passed the halfway point of recording all the symphonies – 57 plus the Sinfonia Concertante in 22 volumes so far – with the Heidelberger Sinfoniker (one volume with the Schlierbacher Kammerorchester) for Hänssler. The first volumes were released in 2000. In 2014, Giovanni Antonini commenced a cycle for Alpha Records with Il Giardino Armonico (Vols. 1–4) and Kammerorchester Basel (Vols. 5 & 6, to date), aiming to perform and record all of Haydn's symphonies by 2032 (the 300th anniversary of the composer's birth).^[6]

Conductor Michael Fendre has developed a website which contains for all symphonies, whenever available, links to the recordings by Antal Doráti, Ádám Fischer and Christopher Hogwood.^[7] The site also contains facts, analyses and a score of each symphony.

• List of compositions by Joseph Haydn
• List of concertos by Joseph Haydn
• List of Masses by Joseph Haydn
• List of operas by Joseph Haydn
• List of piano trios by Joseph Haydn
• List of solo piano compositions by Joseph Haydn
• List of string quartets by Joseph Haydn

• H. C. Robbins Landon, The Symphonies of Joseph Haydn (Universal Edition and Rockliff, 1955)

• Media related to Symphonies by Joseph Haydn at Wikimedia Commons