Three years after Mozart brought his pet Starling home, he named her Star, organized a formal funeral, donned his most elegant finery, recruited friends as velvet-caped mourners, and penned an affectionate eulogy for Star.
According to Lyanda Lynn Haupt, author of the very excellent book and much-praised book Mozart’s Starling, Mozard announced the death of his Starling, who was said to be able to mimic many of his works; Wolfgang laments:
Thinking of this, my dear heart
Is riven apart
Oh, reader! Shed a tear,
You also, here.
He was not naughty, quiet,
But gay and bright,
An und under all his brag,
A foolish wag.
- Yohannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangs Theophilus Mozart
My Starling meets me every morning by the living room window. I named him Pincus. He often stares at me.
He didn’t come by this morning, and I missed him. Mozart has given me a new way to think of Starlings, a word most bird lovers seem to think is greedy and hateful. I want to see where this relationship goes, if anywhere.
If you have ever loved an animal, you’ll love this book.
