Antonín Dvorák's 1883 Scherzo capriccioso for orchestra, Op. 66, is one of the most thoroughly enjoyable musical sweetmeats—in the best sense of that word—to have graced the world's concert halls over the last century-and-a-quarter. These were the years of Dvorák's first real international fame, and the joy of once and for all escaping poverty can be heard throughout this happy-go-lucky orchestral showpiece. Dvorák wrote the Scherzo capriccioso during April and early May 1883, and it was given its Prague premiere already during the latter month; a much more noteworthy performance came about the following year when Dvorák himself conducted the Scherzo capriccioso during his first visit to London.

There really is a great deal of capriciousness to Op. 66. At the very start of the piece the solo horn playfully begins the main tune in the "wrong" key—B flat—and it is up to the rest of the orchestra to find the way over to the real home base: D flat major. The main tune is an almost circus-like affair; a second melody arrives in the guise of a waltz. During the middle of the Scherzo the cor anglais manages, on the strength of simple melodic beauty, to temporarily substitute a little calm D major for the energetic playfulness that has thus far been the work's focus. A horn duet begins the Scherzo's coda, which then proceeds to afford the harpist a chance to make a Nutcracker-like arpeggio solo; a rousing climax is drawn after the solo horn once again chides the orchestra to action.

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