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Arranged symphonic wind dectet/bassA Musical Joke (in German: Ein musikalischer Spaß) K. 522, (Divertimento for two horns and string quartet) is a composition by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart; the composer 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" though Mozart himself is not known to have revealed his actual intentions.The title A Musical Joke might be a poor rendering of the German original: Spaß does not necessarily connote the jocular, for which the word Scherzwould more likely be used. In Fritz Spiegl's view, a more accurate translation would be Some Musical Fun. The sometimes-mentioned nicknames "Dorfmusikantensextett" ("village musicians' sextet") and "Bauernsinfonie" ("farmers' symphony") were added after Mozart's death.The piece consists of four movements and takes about 20 minutes to perform.
In a modernised version by Waldo de los Rios, the opening of the finale of A Musical Joke was used for many years as the theme tune to the BBC's Horse of the Year Show.The mp3 is of the Finale.
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