minuet

The minuet is an elegant dance in triple meter (3/4 time) that originated in French courts during the 17th century. It became one of the most important movements in the Classical symphony and string quartet, typically placed as the third movement in a four-movement work. The minuet is usually paired with a trio — a contrasting middle section originally scored for three instruments. The complete structure is minuet–trio–minuet, creating an ABA form. Haydn and Mozart wrote hundreds of minuets, while Beethoven eventually replaced the minuet with the faster, more energetic scherzo in his symphonies, though the underlying triple-meter dance form remained.