7 ms·
He is remembered for laffs, but he was a very very compelling composer.
by barberpole 3y ago
He is remembered for laffs, but he was a very very compelling composer.
- endemic 3y agoAn amusing moment in my college years was when a roommate was trying to broaden his mind by listening to classical — but unwittingly downloaded PDQ. It sounded _almost_ authentic, but had the classic Schickele twists that gave it away.
- dhosek 3y agoI’ve not heard much of his music (I must remedy that), but I remember hearing one of his pieces (perhaps on Prairie Home Companion?) which was an operatic setting of a joke (“transporting gulls across a staid lion for immortal porpoises”) and it elucidated so much of how opera worked structurally that I never got from listening to actual operas. There’s a lot of education hidden in the jokes.
- lisper 3y agoReading his sheet music can be almost as much fun as watching him perform. I can remember seeing one piece with a tempo note that read, "Mit Schlag" [1]. I laughed so hard I couldn't see. [1] For those who don't speak German, this phrase literally means, "with impact" but idiomatically it means "with whipped cream." It's generally used when ordering desert.
- antognini 3y agoI played his Quartet for Clarinet, Violin, Cello, and Piano in college. At the time I knew all about PDQ Bach, but I wasn't aware of his serious compositions until I played the piece. It was really quite lovely. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMbwNtWZABA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMbwNtWZABA