Synopsis
Today’s date in 1935 marks the birthday of American composer Peter Schickele, best known for his outrageous musical parodies supposedly penned by the fictional P.D.Q. Bach, the “last and least of the great Johann Sebastian Bach’s 20-odd children, and the oddest.” Some radio listeners may also have fond memories of the inventive radio series he created, Schickele Mix, dedicated to the proposition “that all musics are created equal.”
Schickele was born in Ames, Iowa, and grew up in Fargo, North Dakota, where he began his study of composition. He later attended Swarthmore College and the Juilliard School, where one of his classmates was fellow composer Philip Glass. It was at Juilliard that Schickele’s talent for parody created the works of P.D.Q. Bach, and these humorous pieces proved so popular at Juilliard concerts that they were eventually presented at Lincoln Center and even Carnegie Hall.
The tremendous success of P.D.Q. Bach’s music has overshadowed the more serious concert works written under Schickele’s own name. That’s not to say there’s a lack of wit in Schickele’s “serious” music — far from it. But while P.D.Q. Bach’s works may elicit belly laughs, Schickele’s music can evoke more pensive emotions, not without an occasional smile, of course.
Music Played in Today's Program
Peter Schickele (1935-2024): Pentangle (Five Songs for French Horn and Orchestra); Kenneth Albrecht, French horn; Louisville Orchestra; Jorge Mester, conductor; Albany TROY-024
On This Day
Births
1832 - Swedish composer August Söderman, in Stockholm
1875 - English composer, pianist, and music scholar Donald Tovey, in Eton
1935 - American composer and musical satirist Peter Schickele, in Ames, Iowa. He “discovered” and performed the music of P.D.Q Bach (1807-1742?).
Deaths
1937 - French composer and conductor Gabriel Pierné, 73, in Ploujean, Brittany
1967 - Jazz saxophonist John Coltrane, 40, in Huntington, Long Island (New York)
Premieres
1717 - Handel: Water Music on the river Thames, during a royal barge trip from Whitehall to Chelsea (Gregorian date: July 28)
1927 - Milhaud: opera L’enlèvement d’Europe (The Rape of Europa), in Baden-Baden at the Stadthalle
1975 - Sallinen: opera, The Horseman at the Savonlinna Opera Festival in Finland
1983 - Sir Lenox Berkeley: Cello Concerto, in Manchester.
Others
1877 - Otto Dessoff conducts the Vienna Philharmonic on its first concert tour to Salzburg, as part of a three-day Salzburger Musikfest (Salzburg Music Festival) on July 17-19; The orchestra would return to Salzburg in 1879, 1891, 1901, 1904, 1906, and 1910, for special concerts, and in 1925 the annual Salzburg Festival was established, with the Vienna Philharmonic as the Festival’s prominent participant.
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About Composers Datebook®
Host John Birge presents a daily snapshot of composers past and present, with timely information, intriguing musical events and appropriate, accessible music related to each.
He has been hosting, producing and performing classical music for more than 25 years. Since 1997, he has been hosting on Minnesota Public Radio's Classical Music Service. He played French horn for the Cincinnati Symphony and Pops Orchestra and performed with them on their centennial tour of Europe in 1995. He was trained at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, Eastman School of Music and Interlochen Arts Academy.
