Familiar Sounds (Prussia & Austria)

"Does this ever stop playing classical music?" Prussia nagged, watching Austria's car radio tauntingly as if it was responsible for its owner's choice in music.

"I set the radio to a classical music station, Gilbert. What do you expect it to play, French House?"

"Actually, I don't even expect you to know what French House is," Prussia grumbled. Then, he paused and pricked up his ears. "Wait a minute… isn't that the Nokia ringtone?"

"That's the Gran Vals, a waltz for guitar by Francisco Tárrega," Austria replied. "But yes, you're right, it's the Nokia ringtone."

"So Antonio had no objections against Tino using the melody for his mobile phones?"

"Tonio even felt honoured. After all, Tino could have chosen a melody by Jean Sibelius or another one of his own composers. Besides, Tino gives him the latest Nokia version for free since then, and you know how short of money Tonio usually is."

"Ah, that's why! And there I was wondering why he doesn't choose another ringtone which can't be that easily confused with the ringtone of other mobiles…"

"Well." Austria shrugged without taking his hands off the steering wheel. "What really irritates me is that Bernat always has the same phone model because Tárrega was from Catalonia. That can get a little confusing if both of them are in the same room and a mobile starts ringing."

"Those two at least agree about their composers, after all, don't they?"

"Indeed! Even this can lead to awkward situations, though. It already happened that they left their mobiles somewhere in the house and mistook the wrong mobile for their own. You should have seen Tonio's face when Catalonia received a message from Scotland after the elections at his place: Hello old chap! Perhaps now independence will work out for you at last! In any case, my brothers and me wish you all the best. In parentheses: Except for that one humourless curmudgeon—but I don't have to mention that, you have one of them at your own place, after all…"

Notes

Francisco de Asís Tárrega y Eixea (1852-1909, in Catalan Francesc d'Assís Tàrrega i Eixea) was a guitarist and composer. His tremolo etude Recuerdos de la Alhambra ("Memories from the Alhambra") and the aforementioned Gran Vals ("Grand Waltz") are among his best-known compositions, the latter due to the "Nokia ringtone" in bars 13 to 16.

Jean Sibelius (1865-1957, actually Johan Julius Christian Sibelius) is regarded as one of the most important and best known composers of Finland.