Peter Schickele.
In Wednesday’s (1/17) New York Times, Margalit Fox writes, “Peter Schickele, an American composer whose career as a writer of serious concert music was often eclipsed by that of his antic alter ego, the thoroughly debauched, terrifyingly prolific and mercifully fictional P.D.Q. Bach, died on Tuesday at his home in Bearsville … N.Y. He was 88. His death was confirmed by his daughter, Karla Schickele. His health had declined after a series of infections last fall … Under his own name, Mr. Schickele composed more than 100 symphonic, choral, solo instrumental and chamber works, first heard on concert stages in the 1950s and later commissioned by some of the world’s leading orchestras, soloists, and chamber ensembles. He also wrote film scores and musical numbers for Broadway. His music was performed by the New York Philharmonic, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Lark Quartet, the Minnesota Opera, and other notable ensembles … But to his resigned chagrin, it was as a musical parodist … that he remained best known. For more than a half century, through live performances seemingly born of the marriage of Mozart, the Marx Brothers and Rube Goldberg; prizewinning recordings; and even a book-length biography, P.D.Q. Bach … punctured the reverent pomposity that can attend classical-music culture.” Schickele is survived by his wife, Susan Sindall, daughter Karla, and son Matthew.
