The Definitive Biography of P.D.Q. Bach

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The Definitive Biography of P.D.Q. Bach
Author Prof. Peter Schickele
Country United States
Language English
Genre(s) Biography, Music
Publisher Random House, New York
Publication date 1976
Media type Print (Hardcover & Paperback)
Pages 238 pp. (hardcover edition)
ISBN ISBN 0-394-46536-9 (hardcover)
ISBN 0-394-73409-2 (paperback)

The Definitive Biography of P.D.Q. Bach (1807-1742)? is a book by Prof. Peter Schickele chronicling the life of fictitious composer P. D. Q. Bach.

Contents

[edit] Cover blurb

What little-known son of a famous genius has been called:
"A musical blight"
"A one-man plague"
"History's most justifiably neglected composer"
"The worst musician ever to trod organ pedals"
"A pimple on the face of music"
?

In this long-awaited hoax, possibly the most unimportant piece of scholarship in over two thousand years, Professor Peter Schickele has finally succeeded in ripping the veil of obscurity from the most unusual -- to put it kindly -- composer in the history of music: P.D.Q. Bach, the last and unquestionably the least of the great Johann Sebastian Bach's many children.

A carefully compiled, luridly detailed and fully illustrated winner in the field of hard-core musicology, this book will appeal to anyone who has ever been annoyed by the snobbishness of classical-music radio announcers, tried to get through the program notes at a symphony orchestra concert, taken a course in music or art appreciation, or asked himself if violinists can laugh.

The book traces P.D.Q.'s infamy from his early infancy (when he renounced music); through his late infancy (which lasted well into his teens); through his lost years; and to the Turning Point when, at thirty-five, he decided to turn to writing music (he had a good ear, but his other one was really terrible).

This prose biographical section is followed by "A Pictorial Essay," a section of pictures and text so funny that unwarned readers have been seized with the grave symptoms of a disease known as "laughing hiccoughs."

A section of the book reviews the archaeological and genealogical search for P.D.Q., and that is followed by what many readers will find the most useful, the most hair-splitting as well as side-splitting part: the Annotated Catalogue, which examines works such as Concerto for Horn and Hardart, the Pervertimento (for Bagpipes, Bicycle, Balloons, Strings), the Serenude (for 2 Slide Whistles, 2 Kazoos, Tromboon, Windbreaker, Shower Hose, Strings), et al. This section is illustrated with drawings and photographs of the P.D.Q. Bach instruments, including the Pandemonium and the Left-handed Sewer Flute.

For over a decade P.D.Q. Bach's music, as presented by its sole discoverer, the aforementioned Professor Peter Schickele, has filled normally staid concert halls with uproarious laughter. The New York Times said that "An Evening with P.D.Q. Bach is a very, very funny show, even more for people who like music but don't know why." Another reporter reported: "The audience tittered, giggled, belly-laughed, guffawed and downright had a good time." To read The Definitive Biography elicits no less an effect.

[edit] Table of Contents

  • Dedication
  • Preface
  • Preface to the English Language Edition
  • Foreword
  • Introduction
  • Author's Note
  • Acknowledgements
  • Table of Contents
  • I. P.D.Q. Bach's Background: Cause or Effect?
    1. Early Infancy (1742-1745)
    2. Late Infancy (1745-1766)
    3. The Lost Years (1766-1777)
    4. The Turning Point (1777)
  • II. The World of P.D.Q. Bach: A Pictorial Essay
  • III. Man or Myth?: In Search of P.D.Q. Bach
  • IV. "Such a Horrid Clang": An Annotated Catalogue of the Music of P.D.Q. Bach
    1. The Initial Plunge
    2. The Soused Period
    3. Contrition
    4. Undiscovered Works
  • Appendicies
    A. A Map of P.D.Q. Bach's Travels
    B. A Map of P.D.Q. Bach's Public Performances
    C. Charles Burney's Account of His Visit to Wein-am-Rhein in 1788
    D. Bibliography
    E. Analysis of the Two-Part Contraption
    F. Discography
    G. Glossary of Unusual Instruments Used by P.D.Q. Bach
    H. The Bach Family Tree
  • Index

[edit] Publication History

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