P.D.Q. Bach (a.k.a. Peter Schickele)

Since 1965 the tireless Professor Peter Schickele has kept audiences in stitches with his presentation of P.D.Q. Bach (the heretofore unknown "last and the least of the great Johann Sebastian Bach’s twenty-odd children, he was certainly the oddest") and his uniquely typical music.

According to the Professor's 'research', P.D.Q. Bach's father ignored him completely, setting an example for the rest of the family (and indeed for posterity), with the result that P.D.Q. was virtually unknown during his own lifetime; in fact, the more he wrote, the more unknown he became. He finally attained total obscurity at the time of his death, and his musical output would probably have followed him into oblivion had it not been for the zealous efforts of Prof. Schickele. These efforts have even extended themselves to mastering some of the rather unusual instruments for which P.D.Q. liked to compose, such as the left-handed sewer flute, the windbreaker, and the bicycle.

In addition to his annual concerts in New York City, Shickele has appeared with over fifty orchestras, ranging from the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Cleveland Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, the London Symphony Orchestra and the Los Angeles Philharmonic to the New York Pick-Up Ensemble; and his self-contained show The Intimate P.D.Q. Bach (featuring the Semi-Pro Musica Antiqua) has played in cities and on campuses from Maine to California. He as also recorded numerous albums of supposedly discovered P.D.Q. Bach compositions.

Schickele also hosts his own, highly regarded, radio show that is syndicated on public radio, "The Shickele Mix". Since January of 1992, Schickele Mix has been exploring Duke Ellington’s maxim that “if it sounds good, it is good”, in more than 175 episodes, combining such seemingly diverse music as Ravel, the Beach Boys, Willie Nelson, and Cole Porter into suites that demonstrate how these pieces unexpectedly share a similar musical technique or idea.

For more information about the many facits of the music wit and genius of Peter Schickele:

http://www.schickele.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P._D._Q._Bach

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