Some musical works are written from inspiration, some for money. Ignacy Jan Paderewski wrote his famous Minuet as a practical joke.

An elderly doctor named Chalubinski had befriended the 26-year-old Paderewski, and often invited the young pianist to his house in Warsaw. The doctor and a writer friend invariably asked Paderewski to play something by Mozart. Paderewski got tired of playing nothing but Mozart and decided to put a stop to it. He went home and improvised a minuet in a vaguely Mozartean style. The next night he showed up at the doctor’s house eagerly awaiting the customary invitation to play Mozart. Sure enough , the golden moment soon came.

“Won’t you play a little Mozart?” the doctor asked.

Paderewski cheerfully agreed, sat down and played his minuet. “Oh, Mozart!” the doctor cried. “What a wonderful piece ! Tell me, Paderewski, is there any one now alive who could write such beautiful music?”

Paderewski laughed at this unexpected bonus . “Yes, there is such a person,” he said. “I have written it.”

At first the doctor and his friend were very annoyed at being tricked , and suddenly the Mozart concert was over for that night. But a few nights later they asked to hear genuine Mozart and then asked to hear the minuet again, and soon it became a regular part of the Mozart evenings. Before long Paderewski realized that the minuet could make him a popular composer, and very soon it did just that.