“How can I explain to outsiders the humor so delicate, the mirth evanescent, the je ne sais quoi of this handsome and hilarious book?”
–Christopher Lehmann-Haupt, The New York Times
The Definitive Biography of P.D.Q. Bach
(Random House/New York)
In what is possibly the most unimportant piece of scholarship in over two thousand years, Professor Peter Schickele rips the veil of obscurity from P.D.Q. Bach, the last and unquestionably the least of the great Johann Sebastian Bach’s many children. The man, the myth, and the surrounding lore are exposed in this hale and hearty, and delightfully illustrated, tome, which has become an enduring classic of American humor writing.
Now in its eleventh edition, The Definitive Biography of P.D.Q. Bach has been translated into German, and is also available in English as an audio book, read by Professor Schickele. The audio book CD was nominated for a Grammy award for Best Spoken Comedy Album in 1996.
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The Definitive Biography of P.D.Q. Bach Audiobook (HighBridge Audio) Abridged reading by the author. Amazon
Peter Schickele has contributed to numerous other volumes, including the following titles:
Lexicon of Musical Invective: Critical Assaults on Composers Since Beethoven’s Time, by Nicolas Slonimsky (W.W. Norton, New York)
Happy Birthday Bach: 300 Years of Johann Sebastian Bach by Seymour Chwast (Doubleday & Company, New York)
Snooze: The Best of Our Magazine, an unauthorized parody of the New Yorker edited by Alfred Gingold and John Buskin (Workman Publishing, NY)
Kitchen Classics from the Philharmonic by June LeBell (Doubleday, NY)
Bred Any Good Rooks Lately?, edited by James Charton (Dell Publishing, NY)
The Lennon Companion, edited by Elizabeth Thomson and David Gutman (Schirmer Books, NY)
Famous Woodstock Cooks and Their Favorite Recipes by Joanne Michaels and Mary Barile (JMB Publications, Woodstock, NY)
Culinary Harmony: Favorite Recipes of the World’s Finest Classical Musicians by David Rezits (DIR Publishers, Fort Wayne, IN)
Rounds Galore! Captivating Rounds, Old and New by Sol Weber (AstoriaPress)