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M USICAL
M ONSTERS
P.D.Q. Bach unleashes a cracking good tour
BY DEANNA UUTELA
R
Peter Schikele and his alter ego
obert
Louis
S t e v e n s o n ’s
1886 Dr. Jekyll
and Mr. Hyde, known for
its vivid portrayal of a
man with a massively
split personality, has
come to signify the crazy,
uncontrollable
nature
hiding inside us all. In
this spirit of duality, com-
poser Peter Schickele is
preparing to release his
hilarious musical mon-
ster, P.D.Q. Bach, this
year at the OBF.
Schickele’s
story
begins, like many tales,
with a discovery in an old
castle. In 1954, Schickele
claims, he was rummag-
ing around a Bavarian
castle in search of rare
musical gems when he
happened upon a manu-
script of one P.D.Q.
Bach. P.D.Q. was the last
of Johann Sebastian
Bach’s twenty-odd chil-
dren, and apparently his
American orchestras and won four con-
least favorite, Schickele says. But the
secutive Grammy Awards.
story gets even weirder: When the manu-
The one thing that Peter Schickele
script was taken back to the U.S. and
and P.D.Q. Bach do have in common is
performed at the University of Southern
their love of writing party music. P.D.Q.
North Dakota at Hoople, the professor
has recorded such favorites as:
realized too late that he had released a
“Shepherd On The Rocks, With A
monster on the musical world.
Twist,” “Gretchen am Spincycle” and “3-
Unable to restrain himself, Schickele
Step Crab Dinner.” Schickele is known
unleashes on the rare occasion the
for his albums Songs From Shakespeare,
bizarre, and dare I say disturbing, music
Mother Goose and More, and Sneaky Pete and
of P.D.Q. Bach. P.D.Q.’s use of unusual
The Wolf. And both have charmed audi-
instruments, such as the left-handed
ences all over the world with their light-
sewer flute and the bicycle, have left
heartedly serious approach to spreading
audiences perplexed and laughing.
the love of music.
Unlike his Hydian counterpart,
You can see both characters perform
Schickele takes his music very seriously.
on one stage at the Hult Center at 7:30
Schickele is a Juilliard trained composer
pm on Saturday, June 30. Tix range from
who has arranged music for movies and
$15 to $52.
soundtracks, performed with leading
For tickets and more info, visit http://bachfest.uoregon.edu