P. D. Q. Bach is a fictitious composer invented by musical satirist "Professor" Peter Schickele. In a gag that Schickele has developed over a five-decade-long career, he performs "discovered" works of the "only forgotten son" (aka "last and least") of the Bach family. Schickele's music combines parodies of musicological scholarship, the conventions of Baroque and classical music, and slapstick comedy.
The name "P. D. Q." is a parody of the three-part names given to some members of the Bach family that are commonly reduced to initials, such as C. P. E., for Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach. PDQ is an initialism for "pretty damn quick".
On several recordings Schickele states that he is a professor at the fictitious University of Southern North Dakota at Hoople. The town of Hoople, North Dakota, actually exists, but it is in the northeastern part of the state.
Schickele regularly tours, and has recorded on the Vanguard and Telarc labels.
Read more about P. D. Q. Bach: Biography, Music, Tromboon, Performances, Recordings, Awards, Further Reading
Famous quotes containing the word bach:
“We know that a man can read Goethe or Rilke in the evening, that he can play Bach and Schubert, and go to his day’s work at Auschwitz in the morning.”
—George Steiner (b. 1929)