Spare a thought for Mozart and the fickleness of fame

NEVER judge a person by the number of people who attend his funeral. One of the greatest music composers the world has ever known was Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, a child genius who wrote his first composition at the age of five and gave his first public performance a year later.

Mozart wrote his first symphony when he was just nine years old. Churning out music at a furious rate, he composed more than 600 works and was a profound influence on other composers of his time.

Most of his music is still played regularly to this day and continues to give pleasure to millions of music lovers of all ages. He was only 35 when he died of kidney failure, penniless and alone.

His name is known to every student of music today and he certainly left bigger footprints on the world’s musical road than even Elvis Presley, the Beatles, Louis Armstrong or that other little whining wimp with the greasy forelock. Whassname.

Now here’s an interesting question to ask at your next club quiz: how many people attended Mozart’s funeral?

The answer is only one. There were no mourners at the graveside when Mozart was buried in Vienna in 1791. The only person present was the gravedigger.

I find that very moving. Imagine having the creative genius to leave the world works like

and but being so incapable of looking after himself that he ended up sick, broke and forgotten.

There were crowds of mourners at the funerals of Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington, both music legends in their own lifetimes, just as Mozart was.

I wonder what history would have said if there had been broadcasts and recordings in Mozart’s time. Would he have sold 600 golden discs and gone on world tours, playing before packed concert halls?

It’s strange to me that now, some 300 years after his death, his music is being heard and enjoyed daily in every country in the world.

True, great monuments have been erected in his honour, but only long after that lonely funeral in Vienna.

Fame is a very fickle thing. It often ignores those who deserve it most and blesses those who deserve to be forgotten.

Last Laugh

Two magistrates were arrested during the festive season, both for drunken driving.

When they arrived in court on the same day they had a quick meeting and decided on a strategy.

They decided to try each other’s cases. The first one sat on the bench and said to the other: “How do you plead?”

“Guilty, Your Honour,” said the second with a smile.

“You can pay a fine of R50, and don’t be found guilty again.”

Then they swopped places and the other magistrate demanded: “How do you plead?”

“Guilty, Your Honour,” said the magistrate. The first one looked worried. “There’s too much drunk driving going on around here,” he said. “Yours is the second case that’s come up this morning.

“We have to make an example of you. I sentence you to a fine of R400 and 20

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