I heard this music on the radio a few weeks ago and found it delightful.

It’s Ernst von Dohnányi’s Variations on a Nursery Tune. The Nursery Tune in question is called “Ah, vous dirai-je, Maman” in France, but it has a different name in English speaking countries.

Dohnányi claimed that the piece was written “for the enjoyment of humorous people and the annoyance of others”.

It begins with a portentous introduction, so the listener is expecting something particularly dramatic, and then all of a sudden the nursery tune appears. I think most folks will recognize it.

There are eleven variations followed by a fugal finale. Each variation is different in character and some say each one is meant to poke fun at a current or recent composer such as Brahms, Mahler, Richard Strauss, and so on. 

Written in 1914, it has become Dohnányi’s most popular work.