A tourist in Vienna is going through a graveyard and all of a sudden
he hears some music. No one is around, so he starts searching for the
source.
He finally locates the origin and finds it is coming from a grave
with a headstone that reads: Ludwig van Beethoven, 1770-1827.
Then he realizes that the music is the Ninth Symphony and it is
being played backward!
Puzzled, he leaves the graveyard and persuades a friend to return
with him. By the time they arrive back at the grave, the music has
changed. This time it is the Seventh Symphony, but like the previous
piece, it is being played backward.
Curious, the men agree to consult a music scholar.
When they return with the expert, the Fifth Symphony is playing,
again backward. The expert notices that the symphonies are being
played in the reverse order in which they were composed, the 9th,
then the 7th, then the 5th.
By the next day the word has spread and a throng has gathered around
the grave. They are all listening to the Second Symphony being played
backward.
Just then the graveyard's caretaker ambles up to the group. Someone
in the crowd asks him if he has an explanation for the music.
"Don't you get it?" the caretaker says incredulously, "He's
decomposing!"
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