Logging on to teh interwebs for the first time in a few days brought some laughs on an otherwise cold and grey Monday morning, the best of them being this line:
Brahms did not torture and murder cats for sport. Wagner, who had musical differences with Brahms, and who was an utter shit, made the story up.
From here, which links to here and the all important evidence for the quote above, here, stating:
Author’s research reveals calumny that for 100 years defamed German composer was the malicious gossip of ‘notoriously bitchy’ Wagner.
If there had been a Hello or an OK magazine back in the mid-19th century, one can only imagine that these allegations of cat torture and notorious bitchiness would have been regular front page news.
Amazing. I’ve certainly learnt some stuff this morning already.