Peter Schickele facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Peter Schickele
Schickele in 2010
Born	(1935-07-17)July 17, 1935 Ames, Iowa, U.S.
Died	January 16, 2024(2024-01-16) (aged 88) Bearsville, New York, U.S.
Education	Swarthmore College (BM) Juilliard School (MM)
Occupation	Composer, musical educator, parodist

Johann Peter Schickele (born July 17, 1935 – died January 16, 2024) was an American composer and music teacher. He was also a parodist, which means he created funny imitations of music.

He was most famous for his comedy albums. On these albums, he presented his music as if it were composed by a made-up character named P. D. Q. Bach. Peter Schickele also hosted a popular weekly radio show called Schickele Mix.

Between 1990 and 1993, his P. D. Q. Bach recordings won him four Grammy Awards for Best Comedy Album in a row!

Peter Schickele's Early Life

Peter Schickele was born in Ames, Iowa, on July 17, 1935. His parents were immigrants from a region called Alsace. His father, Rainer Schickele, was an agricultural economist. This means he studied how farming and money work together.

In 1946, his family moved to Fargo, North Dakota. There, young Peter studied how to compose music with Sigvald Thompson. Thompson was a conductor for the Fargo-Moorhead Symphony Orchestra.

Schickele (at the back) and others at Swarthmore College

Peter Schickele finished high school in 1952. He then went to Swarthmore College, where he earned a music degree in 1957. He was the very first student at Swarthmore to get a music degree. Later, he earned a master's degree in musical composition from the Juilliard School in 1960.

Starting His Music Career

Peter Schickele wrote music for many folk singers. A famous one was Joan Baez. He helped arrange and orchestrate (prepare for an orchestra) three of her albums in the mid-1960s.

He also composed the original music for the 1972 science fiction movie Silent Running.

Schickele in Milwaukee in 1981

Schickele was also a talented bassoon player. He was part of a music group called the Open Window. This group wrote and performed music for a 1969 show called Oh! Calcutta!.

Schickele loved the funny music of Spike Jones, who made fun of popular songs in the 1940s and 1950s. This inspired Schickele to create his own humorous music. While at Juilliard in 1959, he started performing funny concerts. These concerts became very popular. In 1965, he moved these concerts to The Town Hall (New York City) and invited the public. This is how the character of "P. D. Q. Bach" began.

The World of P. D. Q. Bach

Peter Schickele created a detailed funny story around his made-up composer, P. D. Q. Bach. He pretended that P. D. Q. Bach was the "youngest and oddest" child of the famous composer Johann Sebastian Bach.

P. D. Q. Bach's "forgotten" musical works have funny names like The Abduction of Figaro and Canine Cantata: "Wachet Arf!". He also wrote "O Little Town of Hackensack" and the Concerto for Horn and Hardart. The Hardart is a made-up instrument that looks like a coin-operated food machine.

Schickele also invented other silly instruments. These include the "dill piccolo" for playing sour notes, the "left-handed sewer flute," and the "tromboon" (a mix of a trombone and a bassoon). He also made the "lasso d'amore" and the "pastaphone," which is an uncooked tube of pasta played like a horn!

Many people know Schickele best for his P. D. Q. Bach music. He performed two concerts in 2015 to celebrate 50 years since his first concert at The Town Hall in New York.

Other Music and Radio Work

Peter Schickele composed over 100 original pieces of music. These included works for symphony orchestras, choirs, and smaller music groups. He also wrote music for TV shows and an animated version of Where the Wild Things Are, which he also narrated.

He wrote songs for the movie Silent Running (1972). He also composed music for school bands and several musicals, like Oh! Calcutta!.

Schickele's music often blended traditional European classical music with an American style.

He also created other funny albums that weren't strictly P. D. Q. Bach, such as Hornsmoke and The Emperor's New Clothes.

As a music teacher, Schickele hosted a classical music radio show called Schickele Mix. This show taught people about classical music and was played on many public radio stations. The show started in 1992 and stopped making new episodes in 1999.

Peter Schickele's Family

Peter Schickele married a poet named Susan Sindall in 1962. They had two children, Matt and Karla, who are both musicians. Karla is also a composer of orchestral music.

Peter Schickele's brother, David Schickele, was a film director and musician.

Peter Schickele passed away at his home in Bearsville, New York, on January 16, 2024, at the age of 88.

Awards and Recognition

Peter Schickele won several awards for his music. He is especially known for his Grammy Awards for his P. D. Q. Bach comedy albums.

Images for kids

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  Schickele in 2010

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  Schickele (rear) and others at Swarthmore College

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  Schickele in Milwaukee in 1981

See also

In Spanish: Peter Schickele para niños