Ever since the establishment of music printing, publishers have attached various nicknames to compositions in order to increase sales. More often than not, composers really did not have a say. But on occasion, they are at least based on specific anecdotal accounts.

Joseph Haydn

One day, the story goes, Joseph Haydn received a visit from a Hungarian butcher who professed to be a great admirer of his music. And what is more, his daughter was an accomplished pianist who just couldn’t get enough of Haydn’s keyboard sonatas. That young lady was soon to be married, and she wished for nothing more than a Haydn minuet to celebrate the occasion. Haydn agreed and presented the overjoyed butcher with a minuet and trio a couple of days later. The very next morning Haydn was woken by the sounds of his minuet played under his window. When he looked out, he saw a band of musicians forming a ring around a large ox, tastefully decorated with flowers.

Joseph Haydn: Ox Minuet, Hob. IX:27 (Francesco Tristano Schlime, piano)

Cow with decorative headdress

Soon the butcher appeared and presented the ox to Haydn. He explained that he had selected the best ox in his possession to thank the composer for such excellent music. Naturally, this little composition was said to have acquired the nickname “Ox minuet.” It’s a great story, don’t you think? However, it is almost certainly not true. Although ascribed to Haydn the minuet was actually written by the Austrian composer Ignaz Xaver Ritter von Seyfried (1776-1841). Using actual music composed by Haydn, Seyfried composed the highly popular 1823 Singspiel “Die Ochsenmenuette.” It is a pastiche that brings the fictional story of the Hungarian butcher’s interaction with Haydn to the theatrical stage. The “Ox Minuet” became rather popular in a simple piano arrangement, and found its way into various piano anthologies sold worldwide. In the United States, it appeared in a collection entitled “Ladies Pets,” and it is known in France as “Le Menuet du boeuf.”

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