Sunday, September 18, 2011

Symphony of Tears

It was March, 1787. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart sat impatiently. He had a distinguished guest due to arrive an hour ago, and he was both excited and pissed that his anticipation was being extended. He scribbled notes absently on a sheet of parchment, randomly hitting notes on the grand piano in front of him.
His personal 'assistant' walked in and announced,
"Sir, Master Beethoven has sent a messenger to assure you that he is on his way, and apologizes that he had been detained by an emergency. He sends his regards and expects to be with you around five in the afternoon."

"Thank you, Jens. Have a pot of tea brought up to me. It looks to be a long day."

Jens bowed and left. Wolfgang turned again to the piece he was working on. He had worked on it off and on again for years. It was a short opera regarding the myth of Lycaon, King of Arcadia, who attempted to serve up human flesh to Zeus, to test Zeus' divinity. Zeus responded by turning Lycaon into a beast. A wolf. This resounded with Amadeus so much that writing the music to the story frequently brought him to fits of weeping, and he had to stop working on it until another time.

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