Ludwig van Beethoven

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 said. "He's decomposing!"