Depending on where you look, Igor Stravinsky described Sergei Rachmaninoff as either “six-foot-two of Russian gloom” or “a six-and-a-half-foot scowl.” Perhaps both. It’s true, you won’t find very many photos of Rachmaninoff smiling. But just to prove that he was not entirely without a sense of humor, I share with you the following anecdote:

Rachmaninoff was a favorite recital partner of violinist Fritz Kreisler. Once, in the middle of a concert in New York, Kreisler suffered a memory lapse. As he noodled heroically on his violin, trying to appear nonchalant while attempting to grope his way back, he subtly inched closer to his pianist.

“Where are we?” he whispered.

Rachmaninoff replied, “Carnegie Hall.”

On this April Fool’s Day – which also happens to be Rachmaninoff’s birthday – the two friends are reunited, in spirit, in Rachmaninoff’s transcription of Kreisler’s “Liebesfreud,” or “Love’s Joy.”

Today is also the anniversary of the birth of another of the great pianist-composers, Ferruccio Dante Michelangelo Benvenuto Busoni. With a name like that, clearly his parents had great expectations!

While Ferruccio Busoni could bust his knuckles with the best of them, and weave a web of counterpoint so dense it would have made Max Reger sweat, here’s something a little lighter, in keeping with the spirit of April Fool’s – the “Lustspielouverture,” or “Comedy Overture.”

Also, a fantasy on themes from Mozart’s elevated farce, “The Marriage of Figaro.”

Happy birthday to the Rach (born 1873) and Ferruccio (born 1866) – making fools of aspiring pianists for the better part of 150 years.

PHOTO: Sergei Rachmaninoff, grim reaper