A Musical Joke

A Musical Joke (German: Ein musikalischer Spaß) K. 522, (divertimento for two horns in F, and string quartet) is a composition by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart; he entered it in his Verzeichnis aller meiner Werke (Catalogue of All My Works) on June 14, 1787. Commentators have opined that the piece's purpose is satirical – that "[its] harmonic and rhythmic gaffes serve to parody the work of incompetent composers"[1] – though Mozart himself is not known to have revealed his actual intentions.

The beginning of the fourth movement is well-known in Britain as the theme tune to the BBC's television coverage of the Horse of the Year Show.[2][3]

  1. ^ Sadie, Stanley (1980). "Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart". The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. London: Macmillan. p. [page needed].
  2. ^ "Mozart – A Musical Joke". Classic FM. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
  3. ^ George Hamilton (13 August 2017). "Musical fun fit for horse show week". Irish Independent. Retrieved 22 March 2024.