The use of this term began in 1839 by Robert Schumann when he titled his Opus 20 for pianoforte, Humoreske in B-flat major. He also gave the name Humoreske to the second of the four Phantasiestücke for violin, cello & piano in A minor, Op. 88. Other famous composers have also used this term. Antonin Dvořák composed a set of eight Humoresques (Op. 101) in 1894, Edvard Grieg composed 4 Humoresques (Op. 6) in 1865, Peter Tchaikovsky composed 2 Pieces (Op.10) with the second piece named Humoresque in 1872, and Sergei Rachmaninoff composed Morceaux de salon in 1894 with No. 5 having the name Humoresque in G major. Additionally, Gustav Mahler originally used Humoresken as the title for his collection of songs, Des Knaben Wunderhorn (1888-99), and his Fourth Symphony was originally conceived as a "symphonic humoresque".

See also [Eng.] humoresque; [Fr.] humoresque (f); [Ger.] Humoreske (f); [It.] umoresca (f); [Sp.] humoresca.