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 group asks him if he has an explanation for the music.
"Don't you get it?" the caretaker says incredulously. "He's
decomposing."