P.D.Q. Bach
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P. D. Q. Bach is the pseudonym under which “Professor” Peter Schickele has written a substantial body of satirical music, recorded on the Vanguard and Telarc labels. The music combines takeoffs on musicological scholarship, the conventions of Baroque and Classical music, and a certain amount of slapstick comedy.
Among the many “facts” about the composer’s life in Schickele’s fictional biography of the composer,[1] we find the following:
P. D. Q. Bach was born in Leipzig on April 1, 1742 [2], the son of Johann Sebastian Bach and Anna Magdalena Bach. According to Schickele, Bach’s parents did not bother to give their youngest son a real name, and settled on “P. D. Q.” instead. (In vernacular English, “P. D. Q.” stands for “pretty damn quick”.) Johann Sebastian did not give any musical training to P. D. Q. After his death, the only earthly possession Johann Sebastian Bach willed to his son was a kazoo.
In 1755, P. D. Q. Bach was an apprentice of the inventor of the musical saw, Ludwig Zahnstocher (German for “toothpick”). In 1756, P. D. Q. Bach met Leopold Mozart and advised him to teach his son Wolfgang Amadeus how to play billiards. Later on P. D. Q. Bach went to St. Petersburg to visit his distant cousin Leonhard Sigismund Dietrich Bach, whose daughter Betty Sue bore P. D. Q. a child.
Finally, in 1770, P. D. Q. Bach started to write music, mostly by stealing melodies from other composers.
P. D. Q. Bach died on May 5, 1807; however, his grave was marked “1807-1742”.
Among the many “facts” about the composer’s life in Schickele’s fictional biography of the composer,[1] we find the following:
P. D. Q. Bach was born in Leipzig on April 1, 1742 [2], the son of Johann Sebastian Bach and Anna Magdalena Bach. According to Schickele, Bach’s parents did not bother to give their youngest son a real name, and settled on “P. D. Q.” instead. (In vernacular English, “P. D. Q.” stands for “pretty damn quick”.) Johann Sebastian did not give any musical training to P. D. Q. After his death, the only earthly possession Johann Sebastian Bach willed to his son was a kazoo.
In 1755, P. D. Q. Bach was an apprentice of the inventor of the musical saw, Ludwig Zahnstocher (German for “toothpick”). In 1756, P. D. Q. Bach met Leopold Mozart and advised him to teach his son Wolfgang Amadeus how to play billiards. Later on P. D. Q. Bach went to St. Petersburg to visit his distant cousin Leonhard Sigismund Dietrich Bach, whose daughter Betty Sue bore P. D. Q. a child.
Finally, in 1770, P. D. Q. Bach started to write music, mostly by stealing melodies from other composers.
P. D. Q. Bach died on May 5, 1807; however, his grave was marked “1807-1742”.
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vyiciu, ericvrogers, atlromo and 35 other people added P.D.Q. Bach to their libraries. last month
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Mereminne added P.D.Q. Bach to the lineup of Student and Alumni Composers Recital at Lang Concert Hall, Swarthmore College. October 2010
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Recnilgiarc added P.D.Q. Bach to the lineup of P.D.Q. Bach: A 40 - Year Retrogressive at Peter Jay Sharp Theater. June 2010
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23dingen tagged P.D.Q. Bach with ‘classical satire’. February 2010
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stevenwolf1 tagged P.D.Q. Bach with ‘parody’. November 2009
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