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:
“The author’s conviction on this day of New Year is that music begins to atrophy when it departs too far from the dance; that poetry begins to atrophy when it gets too far from music; but this must not be taken as implying that all good music is dance music or all poetry lyric. Bach and Mozart are never too far from physical movement.”
—Ezra Pound (1885–1972)