Symphony No. 82 (Haydn)

The work is in standard four movement form and scored for flute, two oboes, two bassoons, horns and/or trumpets, timpani, continuo (harpsichord) and strings.

Early conflicting manuscript sources make the exact scoring for the brass unclear.

Instead, the name derives from a recurring feature from the last movement (including its famous opening), in which Haydn imitates the tonality of bagpipes or Dudelsack: a low sustained drone, accentuated by a grace-note on the downbeat.

This curious tonality prompted an 1829 piano arrangement of the symphony to be entitled "Danse de l'Ours," the earliest known printed appearance of the nickname.

[3] This is a reference to the music used to accompany dancing bears — a popular form of street entertainment.