P.D.Q. Bach in Houston: We Have a Problem (review)

Caveat lector: This reviewer's name, unbeknownst to her, appears in the credits of this video. She will make every attempt possible to review this DVD in an objective manner despite her connection with it (She assisted in organizing a small group of singers to perform at Mr. Schickele's interview with KUHT, which does not appear in the DVD, and attended the dress rehearsal as well as the concert documented in this video). Should readers desire other points of view on this DVD, this reviewer encourages them to consult Charles Ward's concert review ("A Tardy 'P.D.Q. Bach' Has Great Comedic Timing," Houston Chronicle, 12 December 2005, 3 [STAR]), Bonnie Jo Dopp's video review (Review of P.D.Q. Bach in Houston: We Have a Problem!, by Alan Foster, Library Journal 131, no. 18 [1 November 2006]: 117), as well as other amateur reviews posted on commercial Web sites like Amazon.com.

Peter Schickele has been performing his P.D.Q. Bach concerts for over forty years, yet there are few of these events documented on film. For instance, there is a Swarthmore College performance entitled J. S. Bach and Son Featuring a Newly Discovered Work by P.D.Q. (cond. Peter Gram Swing and Peter Schickele, Swarthmore College, 1985, videocassette) in which Schickele was directly involved. However, such a video may likely be only accessible at the institution which owns it. Twenty-two years ago, the Minnesota Opera produced The Abduction of Figaro with Professor Peter Schickele at the podium (prod. Stephen Schmidt, dir. Kaye S. Lavine, 144 min., Video Artists International, 1984, VAI 29027, VHS). This was the first video of a P.D.Q. Bach work made commercially available to audiences. VAI re-released it on DVD in 2004 (VAI DVD 4251) and included some bonus excerpts of a performance of Gross Concerto for Divers Flutes along with an interview with Gordon Hunt recorded in 1972. The DVD featured in this review is the first commercially available video of an entire traditional P.D.Q. Bach concert. It took place on 8 December 2005 at Stude Concert Hall, Rice University, in Houston, Texas.

The concert begins with Professor Schickele's delayed appearance. His longtime, cantankerous stage manager, William Walters, approaches the lectern to announce that Schickele had "not yet arrived in Dallas." However, the good professor rushes onto the balcony and climbs down onto the stage with a rope; it is exciting to have this traditional antic captured on film. The first piece on the concert, "Desecration of the House" Overture, is not so much a piece to be performed in the traditional sense as it is the orchestra walking off the stage upon Professor Schickele's downbeat. Schleptet, next on the program, featured Professor Schickele conducting the work while sitting on the floor for lack of a music stand; his stage manager was only helpful in finding one after the piece was finished.

Iphigenia in Brooklyn, the third work on the program, contained many high points of comic performance. To start, viewers get a chance to see and hear the opening "Trumpet Involuntary" on video. This movement has not appeared on LP or CD simply because the visual comedy drives it, and it would not make much sense aurally. Gerrod Pagenkopf was quite amazing as the "Bargain Counter Tenor" and it was interesting to compare his performance to that of John Ferrante's in the first P.D.Q. Bach concert recording (Peter Schickele Presenting P.D.Q. Bach [1807–1742]?, Vanguard VSD-79195, 1965, LP). Both performances offer different interpretations and are equally funny and enjoyable. This work produces many laughs in other ways as Professor Schickele plays and "tunes" his wine bottle and the harpsichord player enjoys his cadenza for too long.

Peter Jacoby conducts Professor Peter Schickele's "Unbegun" Symphony for the fourth work on the program. This...