Peter Schickele Memorial Tribute Concert at New York Society for Ethical Culture

Peter Schickele Memorial Tribute Concert at New York Society for Ethical Culture
June 2. 6PM. $18.07-$150.

Every year, a classical composer or two wins a Grammy. The late classical composer Peter Schickele won four of them. None were for classical music; they were all in the comedy category. Schickele was the creator of PDQ Bach, the last and least of JS Bach’s many sons, and a composer of suspiciously familiar-sounding tunes played on rude, often flatulent instruments. But Schickele was not just a master of musical parody. He also wrote a haunting song for Joan Baez, setting a text by e.e.cummings, called “All In Green Went My Love Riding.” 

Both sides of Schickele’s music, the comic and the serious (but mostly the comic) will be on display in a memorial concert, taking place Monday night, June 2, at the Society For Ethical Culture. In a special program curated by Schickele’s daughter and hosted by WQXR's Elliott Forrest, family and friends and special guests perform selections from the composer’s classical and popular music oeuvre, interspersed with never-before-seen film footage and remembrances by music and comedy luminaries.