Symphonies were ubiquitous in musical life of the late eighteenth century. In Vienna, virtually every public concert began with a symphony, and the evidence suggests they concluded with one, or with a symphony finale, as well. Moreover, every possible performing venue featured symphonies, and writers often drew distinctions among three kinds of symphonies based on these venues and the styles common to each: concert or chamber symphonies, performed in concert rooms, including theaters temporarily devoted to concerts (such as the Vienna Burgtheater during Lent), the larger salons of the nobility, and casinos and gardens; theater symphonies, including opera overtures and music performed before and between the acts of plays; and church symphonies, comprising overtures to oratorios and sacred cantatas as well as symphonies played during the liturgy. By the end of the first quarter of the nineteenth century, the genre “symphony” needed no qualification: it was simply a multi-movement piece for orchestra, a symphony in the modern sense.

The “overture” function of a concert symphony, with subsequent portions given to vocal and instrumental soloists performing arias, concertos, and improvisations, is clarified by this often-cited program of Mozart's concert in the Burgtheater on 23 March 1783, at which Emperor Joseph II and perhaps Gluck were present:

1. “Haffner” Symphony, K. 385, I–III (?)

2. Aria (No. 11) from Idomeneo, K. 366

3. Piano Concerto in C major, K. 415/387b

4. Recitative and Aria for soprano, K. 369

5. Symphonie concertante, III and IV of Serenade, K. 320

6. Piano Concerto in D major, K. 175 with new finale, K. 382

7. Aria (No. 16) from Lucio Silla, K. 135

8. Short fugue for piano, improvised

9. Variations for piano, K. 398/416e

10. Variations for piano, K. 455

11. Recitative and Rondo for soprano, K. 416

12. “Haffner” Symphony, IV