What happened to Peter Schickele?

Peter Schickele passed away on January 16th at the age of 88, succumbing to declining health that had confined him to his home in Woodstock, New York. He leaves behind a legacy as both a serious composer and a musical comedian, famously known as P. D. Q. Bach, with enduring recordings that continue to captivate audiences. His parodies of scholarly styles and humorous takes on well-known masterpieces stand out not only for their comedic brilliance but also for their educational value.

Examples of his wit include the Concerto for Horn and Hardart, where a quasi-Mozart appoggiatura is humorously prolonged for 30 seconds before reaching resolution. Another gem is the Quodlibet, featuring tonic-dominant melodies from all nine of Beethoven’s symphonies, seamlessly blending with elements from Schoenberg’s Little Piano Piece, op. 19, no. 2, and Puccini’s Un bel di vedremo. Schickele’s reinterpretation of Beethoven’s Fifth first movement as a down-on-the-farm sportscast and the mini-opera The Abduction of Figaro remain unforgettable.

My initial acquaintance with Peter was indirect, as some classmates heard him at Aspen summers. A Swarthmore student at the time, he later attended the Juilliard School, where he met and married Susan Sindall, a connection that proved beneficial in 1978 when he visited the University of New Hampshire as a guest composer for the UNH Wind Ensemble. During that visit, he composed a two-part round in honor of Crawford, a crawfish residing in our pond aquarium. His serious compositions, including Monochromes for nine clarinets and 12 flutes, were featured at the UNH concert.

Post his active concert stage years, Schickele curated a witty series of 175 hour-long Sunday programs titled Schickele Mix for National Public Radio. Covering various themes like “Basic Boom-chick” (a title I’ve borrowed for part of my Melody book), and “Basses Are Loaded,” each program concluded over 15 years with the memorable line, “It don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that certain je ne sais quoi.” Schickele Mix continues to be a valuable source of musical enlightenment, still accessible to this day.