P.D.Q. Bach
Andrew Rembel
he falls into. He was rapping to classical music. Has anyone heard
of him/them ? Any information would be appreciated.
m...@vcp1.vcp.monash.edu.au
P.D.Q Bach is an alias for an American conductor/composer (whose name eludes
me) who takes the mickey out of classical music. Some of his music is
extremely funny to listen to, others a just a little cacophonic to get a laugh
out of. Live performances are also a laugh. In one concert, he entered the
auditorium, via the balcony, tied a rope to edge of the balcony and climbed
down the rope, strode down the aisle with audience laughing and clapping,
hopped up on the stage and took a bow. Good fun! I don't know if he move into
other forms of music.
No, I can't remeber his name. Generously built bloke, black beard, very funny
guy. American, established conductor, too. If you want to hear some music and
have a laugh at the same time, go and see him. You won't be dissapointed.
Have fun!
Mik Lipcsey
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| When things get so big, I don't trust them at all, Peter Gabriel |
| If you want some control, You've got to keep it small. DIY, (1978) |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Mik Lipcsey, Victorian College of Pharmacy, Monash University, Australia |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Aarnet: m...@vcp1.vcp.monash.edu.au | My thoughts, not VCP... so there! |
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Mark Yocom A
>In article <20...@necisa.ho.necisa.oz.au>, and...@necisa.ho.necisa.oz.au (Andrew Rembel) writes:
>> I've only heard one song by this guy so I'm not sure what category
>> he falls into. He was rapping to classical music. Has anyone heard
>> of him/them ? Any information would be appreciated.
>
>P.D.Q Bach is an alias for an American conductor/composer (whose name eludes
It's Professor Peter Schikele, who says that he "discovered" the works of
the (not-so-)famous P.D.Q. Bach. His only opera, "The Abduction of Figaro"
is an absolute must-see. Full of allusions to other works (including "My
Boyfriend's Back" if you can imagine that...) and enough visual comedy to
keep the non-musical types amused. I rate it very highly.
When I was in high school, we even played a couple of P.D.Q. Bach
compositions: "March of the Cute Little Wood Sprites" and something along
the lines of "Suite and Symphony For an Awful Lot of Winds and Percussion".
Excellent stuff.
Say, does a discography exist for P.D.Q. Bach? That'd be handy...
--
_-~-_-~-_-~-_-~-_-~-_-~-_-~-_-~-_-Mark Yocom_-~-_-~-_-~-_-~-_-~-_-~-_-~-_-~-_
< n904...@henson.cc.wwu.edu | "Enticed elephant phoned | I mean what I say, >
< 904...@nessie.cc.wwu.edu | wad dime lieu king ford." | but not always v.v.>
~-_-~-_-~-_-~-_-~-_-~-_-~-_-~-_-~-_-~-_-~-_-~-_-~-_-~-_-~-_-~-_-~-_-~-_-~-_-~
christopher lishka
"PDQ Bach" performances. I had the good fortune to see one of his
last (in Madison, Wisconsin, USA) and it was so funny I was in tears.
Besides his usual array of short musical pieces for odd instruments
(including pasta this time) there was an outrageous skit involving a
piano solo and a lamp on the piano that kept burning out. So they
brought in the lazy stage hand (actually played by a Shakspearian
actor) who kept stringing more extension cords and blowing out *all*
of the lights in the theatre. Each time the lights came back on,
someone else was playing the piano, with the final time being the
stagehand himself (without the music *ever* stopping).
Even without the live performances, there are still his many
recordings, several which I have heard throughout the years. I have
his latest, which was recorded and distributed by Telarc and has a
takeoff of Philip Glass (the piece is called "Einstein on the fritz"
and the main lyric is "coy hotsy-totsy).
Unfortunately I do not have a discography. One album to look for that
contains a "best of" collection of some of his earlier works is "The
Worst Of PDQ Bach" (which features Prof. Schickele on the cover
surrounded by sausages). This record includes the classic skits "Name
that melodic tune" and a concert performance with voice-overs by
sports-casters describing the "action" down on stage ("He flubbed a
note! Do you think he will be traded to a different orchestra now?").
One note: you do not have to be a classical music fanatic to enjoy his
stuff. I certainly am not. One of my friends as a teenager used to
listen solely to funk and heavy metal, yet had several PDQ Bach albums
and *really* enjoyed them.
And if you *EVER* get a chance to see a PDQ Bach concert live, don't
miss it!
.oO Chris Oo.
--
Christopher Lishka It is not safe out here. It is wonderous, with
Wisconsin Group, CERN treasures to satiate desires both subtle and gross.
lis...@cernvax.cern.ch But it is not for the timid. -- Q
LIB...@byuvm.bitnet
>
>I've only heard one song by this guy so I'm not sure what category
>he falls into. He was rapping to classical music. Has anyone heard
>of him/them ? Any information would be appreciated.
>
a composer and humorist. The humor involved in the P.D.Q. Bach hoax
is mostly fairly esoteric and would require some classical background
for you to appreciate it, and some of it is pure slapstick. I think
it's the best. For more detailed info, look in on the
rec.music.classical newsgroup... they've been carrying on a P.D.Q.
Bach dicussion for a few days. If you don't have access to them,
I'd be happy to give you more details. Just e-mail me.
*************************************************************************
Rick Anderson "The problem with 'isms' is that they
HBLL 6082/Music Section turn people into 'ists.'" -- me
Brigham Young University
Provo, UT 84602 Disclaimer: My thoughts are my own, thanks.
U16...@uicvm.uic.edu
There is much discussion of this in rec.music.classical
James Jones
>His only opera, "The Abduction of Figaro"
>is an absolute must-see.
Eh? What about the half-act (some scholars say the c should be soft in that
phrase :-) opera *The Stoned Guest*, or the opera in one unnatural act,
*Hansel and Gretel and Ted and Alice*?
In any case, the works of PDQ Bach are a real hoot, and the more you know
about music, the more hilarious they are. (Early music fans--"L'Homme Arme"
is quoted in one of them.) Of course, you shouldn't restrict yourself to
the operas; "Iphegenia in Brooklyn" and the bluegrass cantata "Blaues Gras"
are just a couple that come to mind.
(Peter Schickele does some humorous bits under his own name, as well, for
example the bassoon quartet "Last Tango in Bayreuth," put together entirely
from Wagnerian motifs.)
James Jones
Mark Yocom A
>In article <1991Aug23....@henson.cc.wwu.edu> n904...@henson.cc.wwu.edu (Mark Yocom A) writes:
>>His only opera, "The Abduction of Figaro"
>>is an absolute must-see.
>
>Eh? What about the half-act (some scholars say the c should be soft in that
>phrase :-) opera *The Stoned Guest*, or the opera in one unnatural act,
>*Hansel and Gretel and Ted and Alice*?
>
Ah, my mistake. I meant his only >full-length< opera (as stated in the
introduction to said opera on video)...
Eiji Hirai
> Alas, I have heard that Prof. Peter Schickele (sp?) has ended his live
> "PDQ Bach" performances. I had the good fortune to see one of his
> last (in Madison, Wisconsin, USA)
Are you sure? He regularly (once a year or so) performs here at Swarthmore
College, PA. Our concert hall isn't great, seating capacity is minimal and
the location is abysmal but he's one our alumnus.
--
Eiji Hirai @ Computing Center, Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, PA, USA.
hi...@cc.swarthmore.edu. Copyright 1991 by Eiji Hirai. All Rights Reserved.
Permissions to reproduce or quote denied except in Internet mailing lists,
Usenet and mail to me. I don't speak for Swarthmore College nor anyone else.
Raymond Chen
>Alas, I have heard that Prof. Peter Schickele (sp?) has ended his live
>"PDQ Bach" performances.
The Professor is taking a year's sabbatical, so that Mister Peter Schickele
can devote his energies to serious composition.
christopher lishka
>lis...@cernvax.cern.ch (christopher lishka) writes:
>> Alas, I have heard that Prof. Peter Schickele (sp?) has ended his live
>> "PDQ Bach" performances.
>Are you sure? He regularly (once a year or so) performs here at Swarthmore
>College, PA. Our concert hall isn't great, seating capacity is minimal and
>the location is abysmal but he's one our alumnus.
Right before I saw his most recent Madison concert, the Madison weekly
paper Isthmus stated that this was likely his last tour for the PDQ
Bach stuff. Apparently he was going on to do other things. They may
have gotten it wrong (I sure hope so!).
Marc Wiz
> > "PDQ Bach" performances. I had the good fortune to see one of his
> > last (in Madison, Wisconsin, USA)
>
The "farewell" concert took place on April 1 of this year in southern
California.
Marc Wiz MaBell (512)838-4780
Yes that really is my last name.
The views expressed are my own.
ma...@aixwiz.austin.ibm.com
or
uunet!cs.utexas.edu!ibmchs!auschs!ekhomeni.austin.ibm.com!marc
Mark Bartelt
| The "farewell" concert took place on April 1 of this year in southern
| California.
Perhaps the date of the concert might be taken as a hint as to whether
it was really a "farewell" concert or not.
Mark Bartelt 416/978-5619
Canadian Institute for ma...@cita.toronto.edu
Theoretical Astrophysics ma...@cita.utoronto.ca