Peter Schickele (1935–2024)
Author of The Definitive Biography of P. D. Q. Bach
About the Author
Disambiguation Notice:
(ger) P. D. Q. Bach ist eine Erfindung des amerikanischen Komponisten und Professors Peter Schickele als der letzte, unbekannte Sohn von Johann Sebastian Bach.
Birth: 1742-04-01, Baden-Baden, Germany
Death: 1807-05-05
P. D. Q. Bach is an invention of the US composer and professor Peter Schickele as the last unknown son of Johann Sebastian Bach. Fictional birth: 1742-04-01, Baden-Baden, Germany, and death: 1807-05-05.
Image credit: Prof. Peter Schickele at the Outer Banks Forum Saturday, 27 March 2010, photo by Peter Hummers
Works by Peter Schickele
Four folk song upsettings : for mezzanine-soprano, devious instruments, and piano (S. 4) (1996) 6 copies
Perückenstuück, for The Civilian Barber (S. 4F) (Hair piece), for Sprano Pump Flute, Police Trombone,… (2000) 4 copies
Music You Can't Get Out Of Your Head 3 copies
Toot Suite, S. 212 3 copies
The Intimate P.D.Q. Bach 3 copies
The Art of the Ground Round 3 copies
The emperor's new clothes : for narrator, oboe, violin, viola, violoncello, and piano (2008) 2 copies
The Eminent Musicologist and Composer, Peter Schickele in a program of the recently discovered works of P.D.Q. Bach… (1990) 2 copies
Sonata Piccola 1 copy
Requiem for string orchestra 1 copy
Little Suite for Summer 1 copy
Little Suite for Susan 1 copy
Guide my soul 1 copy
Noël. [Sound recording] 1 copy
It was a lover and his lass : from Liebeslieder polkas (S. 2/4) : S.A.T.B. with piano, five hands 1 copy
O Little Town of Hackensack 1 copy
Monochrome I 1 copy
P. D. Q. Bach Strikes Back 1 copy
Associated Works
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- Schickele, Peter
- Legal name
- Schickele, Johann Peter
- Other names
- Bach, P. D. Q.
- Birthdate
- 1935-07-17
- Date of death
- 2024-01-16
- Gender
- male
- Nationality
- USA
- Birthplace
- Ames, Iowa, USA
- Places of residence
- New York, New York, USA
Fargo, North Dakota, USA
Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, USA - Education
- Swarthmore College
The Juilliard School - Occupations
- composer
bassoonist - Disambiguation notice
- P. D. Q. Bach is an invention of the US composer and professor Peter Schickele as the last unknown son of Johann Sebastian Bach.
Fictional birth: 1742-04-01, Baden-Baden, Germany, and death: 1807-05-05.
Members
Discussions
R.I.P. P.D.Q. 1807-1742? in Classical Music (February 11)
Reviews
Awards
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Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 80
- Also by
- 3
- Members
- 680
- Popularity
- #37,181
- Rating
- 4.2
- Reviews
- 15
- ISBNs
- 22
- Languages
- 4
- Favorited
- 1
The book is delightful and full of laughs that sneak up on you. For example, names of people and places and footnotes (do read them all). My husband, who is a musician, is sitting near me reading the book, cracking up at many of these passages. He’ll explain them to me when he finishes.
Some serious information explaining some of information does creep in but it is often an offshoot cloaked in humor such as defining terms like “What do you mean by form?”
Other examples of humor are found in chapter titles: Chapter 1 Early Infancy. 1742 to 1745. Chapter 2. Late Infancy 1745 to 1766.
“A man who triumphed over the most staggering obstacle ever place before a composer:: absolute and utter lack of talent.”
One sentence has 102 words and 27 commas.
There are descriptions and drawings of esoteric instruments as well as stories of his operas and compositions.
Schickele goes into detail analyzing the music. The more you know about the music, the funnier it will be.
At one point the author was trying to locate a person to get more information about P. D. Q. Bach. but the man was no longer at the monastery. “He had been exposed as a thief, and sent away with brand on his forehead signifying to all the world that he was a felonious monk.”
Unfortunately, I read an e-book version and the photography was blurry.
If you’re not familiar with PDQ Bach, go online and look at some of the videos. Here’s one: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WR4CdKSeD-E… (more)