A Minor League's Mozart

Regarded as a child prodigy, aged eight,
he accompanied his parents on the piano
at their musical gatherings of first rate.

His mother was a very talented chorister
and his father an enthusiastic conductor;
together they forged his strong character.

We were told by Clive James that Mozart
was born in Erskineville, near Sydney,
where the musician developed his art.

We all thought that the truth was crucial
and, as we doubted the poet's assertion,
to find out we made a search on Google.

We found the answer and, lo an behold,
here was a man called Joe Mozart Post
which was exactly what we'd been told.

Although Mozart was his middle name
unlike the famous Austrian composer
he did not achieve an equivalent fame.

He graduated and became an instructor
teaching oboe, cor anglais and the piano
but then decided to become a conductor.

Many years later this former boy wonder
led an orchestra at the Royal Albert Hall,
the first man to do so from Down Under.

© Luigi Pagano 2020