The Pink Panther is an amateur violinist who wants to play in the orchestra at a concert but is forcefully removed from the concert hall. The sly panther sneaks into the hall and secrets himself in the orchestra. A diminutive, short-tempered conductor tries to direct the orchestra in performing Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, but the Pink Panther keeps injecting his own theme into the music, first with his violin, then with a horn and a trumpet, enraging the conductor.