Ein musikalischer Spaß [A Musical Joke] for 2 horns, 2 violins, viola and basso

On June 14, 1787, Mozart entered the Musikalischer Spaß in F, K. 522 in his own handwritten catalog of works: “Ein Musikalischer Spass; consisting of an Allegro, Minuet and Trio, Adagio, and finale. – 2 violini, viola, 2 corni, e Basso.”

The work was known in the 19th century as the “village musicians’ sextet”, the “peasants’ symphony” or “miners’ music”. However, Mozart was probably poking fun at untalented composers rather than bad musicians. This is particularly noticeable in the minuet, in which the horns play grotesque sequences of notes, and in the slow movement with a cadenza for the first violin that goes completely beyond the scope of the movement. The end of the work is not for the faint-hearted: Mozart has the final notes and chords in each instrument played in a different key, which contradicted any understanding of harmony at the time.

Did you know…

Did you know that there was never an original score for the first movement of Musikalischer Spaß?

Mozart wrote this movement down in parts, as he occasionally did when composing for friends—a remarkable feat of memory, as Mozart himself could not easily check the relationship between the parts in this way. The part for the second violin even exists in two different versions.