Tiny Criss-Cross Block

 

When the Marx bothers were growing up, there was only enough money for one to take music lessons. Chico, the oldest, learned piano. Harpo (his real name was Adolph) taught himself to play harp, and never learned to read music. In 1931, Harpo Marx took an apartment in The Garden of Allah in L.A., where he hoped to practice harp several hours a day. This went well until a pianist moved next door and began practicing very loudly. The new neighbor was Sergei Rachmaninoff, preparing for a concert tour. Complaining to the management accomplished nothing, so Harpo retaliated. He began playing the first few bars of Prelude in C Sharp Minor, over and over, fortissimo. This particular piece is difficult to play on the piano, and practically impossible on the harp. Rachmaninoff had written it nearly forty years earlier, and was sick of it. Harpo’s gambit paid off. The pianist moved, and peace was restored.