The merrily twisted tale of P.D.Q. and the prof
By Catherine E. Toth
Advertiser Staff Writer
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| Peter Schickele as himself and as P.D.Q Bach. The host of National Public Radio's "Schickele Mix" program will give performances next week in Honolulu and on Maui.
Peter Schaaf 'P.D.Q. Bach and Peter Schickele: The Jekyll and Hyde Tour' Part of Hawai'i Public Radio's 20th birthday celebration 7:30 p.m. Wednesday Hawai'i Theatre, 1130 Bethel St. $10, $25, $30 (discounts for members) 528-0506 Also: Performance on Maui, 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center's Castle Theater. $10, $18, $25 (discounts for members). (808) 242-7469 |
The man who murdered music was the reason a young Peter Schickele packed up his basement theater and headed toward music.
Once an aspiring stage performer at age 10, now an accomplished musician and composer 56 years later.
Who'da thought?
"I was an absolute Spike Jones nut when I was a kid," Schickele said with a laugh, from his home in New York. "I spent all my allowance on buying his records."
Even at a young age, he appreciated Jones' satire, perfect timing, cleverness and wit. First-rate musicianship that included the sounds of pistols, coffee cans, washtubs and breaking glass.
Schickele and his younger brother were such crazed fans, they would perform — for a fee, of course — Jones' songs at Rotary and Lions clubs around Fargo, N.D., where he grew up.
"Hey, everybody's gotta start somewhere," he said, undeniably smiling.
And that's not where it ended.
Schickele has become an internationally recognized composer and musician, arguably one of the most versatile artists in music. He has written more than 100 symphonies for orchestras, choral groups and chamber ensembles, for movies and television, in opera houses and concert halls.
The multiple Grammy Award winner and host of National Public Radio's "Schickele Mix" show, a graduate of the prestigious Juilliard School of Music, is not your cardboard cut-out classical musician.
Remember who his inspiration is.
For the past 36 years, Schickele has played the role of discoverer of P.D.Q. Bach's music.
P.D.Q. Bach?
"He was the 21st of Johann Sebastian Bach's 20 children," he said, matter-of-factly.
Here's the story: In 1965, professor Peter Schickele, rummaging around a Bavarian castle in search of rare musical gems, found the original manuscript of a Sanka Cantata by a P.D.Q. Bach, employed as a strainer in the caretaker's percolator. A cursory examination of the music immediately revealed the reason for the atrocious taste of the coffee. Ignored by his father, the most renowned Bach, and ostracized by the entire family, P.D.Q. Bach's music, which employed instruments such as the left-handed sewer flute and the windbreaker, may have never seen the light of day had it not been for professor Schickele.
"It started as in-house entertainment for people in school (Juilliard)," he said. "And it just got out of hand. I couldn't be happier."
He has written nearly 100 P.D.Q. Bach pieces, performing them annually in New York City since 1965.
"There are people who been coming to the show every year," he said. "It's just amazing. It's a little bit like the 'Rocky Horror Picture Show' of classical music."
Schickele is bringing his touring show, "P.D.Q. Bach and Peter Schickele: The Jekyll and Hyde Tour" to O'ahu and Maui next week as part of Hawai'i Public Radio's 20th birthday celebration.
Half the show will feature Schickele's originals; the other half he performs as professor Schickele, talking about his discoveries of music.
But don't expect to see the famous initialed one himself.
"I never presume to be him," he said, probably with a twinkle in his eye. "That's against the law. You could go to jail for that."
