[Dixielandjazz] Hokum & P.D.Q. Bach

[Steve Barbone]

Not on topic, but still fun to see a master musician poke fun at artistic
pomposity. This has been a great show for over 40 years.

Cheers,
Steve Barbone


And Now for Something Classically Odd

NY TIMES - By BERNARD HOLLAND - January 4, 2007

Going to a P. D. Q. Bach concert is like listening to a Beethoven symphony:
You know what¹s coming but still like it when it gets there. The tradition
(or is it habit?) survives after more than 40 years; so do its ritual
formats. Both were greeted at Avery Fisher Hall on Tuesday by a large and
unusually smart-mouthed audience. Members of the New York Philharmonic
played along mostly with good grace, though some looked to be salvaging what
they could of their dignity.

Peter Schickele as conductor, lecturer, comedian (physical and stand-up) and
behind-the-scenes composer did his customary show and tell on the fictional
Bach progeny of the show¹s title. William Walters roamed the stage in his
vile sports jacket, insulting latecomers, doing minor carpentry and creating
electrical crises. Smiling but a little dazed by it all, Xian Zhang shared
the conducting.

The usual odd instruments were wheeled in: a bicycle that whistled as Lloyd
Peterson pumped its pedals, a table full of toys managed by Michèle Eaton
among others, bagpipes in various states of undress played by Maurice
Eisenstadt, and popped balloons as low-rent replacements for the big guns of
Tchaikovsky¹s ³1812² Overture.

Mr. Schickele¹s dreadful puns (Brittany Spears as French weaponry) would not
long survive outside the pomposities and gloomy rituals of the symphonic
stage. Anyone who wonders at operagoers tittering over Wagner¹s lamest
attempts at humor, might look also at a P. D. Q. Bach event to understand
that breaching classical music¹s earnest defense of protocol becomes both
exciting and guilt-inducing. Mr. Schickele and his crew attack most
formalities of stage behavior: entrances and exits, conductor greets
concertmaster and the like. Lighting cues are rearranged to create maximum
chaos. And along with Mr. Schickele¹s skill at manipulating hesitation is
his considerable charm. Still vigorous, he looks more than ever like Santa
Claus in need of a post-Christmas rest.

The foundations for Mr. Schickele¹s success have been pointed out many
times. He is a master musician with a thorough grasp of composition.
³Fanfare for Fred² points out vacuities of Baroque music that we too often
treat with reflexive reverence. The ³Pervertimento for Bagpipes, Bicycle and
Balloons² begins with a firm understanding of Mozartean style. The Prelude
to ³Einstein on the Fritz² fails to take Philip Glass¹s repetitions too
seriously. In the ³1712² Overture Mr. Schickele nails Tchaikovsky and
Beethoven with remarkable acuity.

On Tuesday there were old gags and new ones. Listeners seemed to like both.
A year of white-tie-and-tails and churchlike bowings and scrapings awaits us
in 2007, so maybe by 2008 the used-up air of P. D. Q. Bach will once again
come at us feeling like a fresh breeze.