Itzhak Perlman and Peter Schickele, Part 1

Itzhak Perlman and Peter Schickele mix it up in a hilarious duet at a Boston Pops Concert with John Williams conducting. Part 1 is mostly the setup, with Peter Schickele expounding on the life of P.D.Q. Bach, "the 21st of Johann Sebastian Bach's 20 children."
Part 2 is the real gem however that shows off Perlman's violin brilliance and perhaps a heretofore unexpected comedic genius.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Perlman
• Schickele
• comedy
• music
• Boston Pops
• P.D.Q. Bach

[dadoctah]

Nobody who listened to Professor Schickele's radio show could have been at all surprised by that "dead C scrolls" bit.

This is the man who told us of novelist Emile Zola's ugly sister, nicknamed "Gorgon", for whom an ocarina-like instrument called the "gorgonzola" was named.

He explained the invention of the piccolo by having Italian peasants cook flutes in boiling oil at the seaside until they shrunk to half their original size, a custom known today as the "Mediterranean flute fry".

[singinginachurch]

Itzhak Perlman`s eyeroll when Peter Schickele says 'The dead 'c' scrolls' is hilarious!

[bretg]

Schickele's best joke is a rather lengthy one about a 'cello audition and "La Nozze di Figaro." Too long to relate here, so here's some short ones of his:

Q: Why is a viola recital like a murder investigation?

A: Everyone breathes a sigh of relief when the case is closed.

Q: What is the difference between a viola and a trampoline?

A: You can take your shoes off before jumping up and down on a trampoline.

[1712Overture]

1 person is a descendant of Hans Holtzman.

[1712Overture]

@ablestmage

No, using Bach's hair for the g-string (the audience laughed enough just hearing g-string) is from P.D.Q. Bach at Carnegie Hall & also The Wurst of P.D.Q. Bach. It's from the into to The Seasonings.

[KarlBonner1982]

Actually it's possible to have a violin part that never ventures down to middle C or below, though I imagine most solo violin parts do use the bottom half-octave. Flutes almost never play that low, and soprano and alto recorders are incapable of reaching middle C!

[bckm54]

hysterical! :)

[frederickgauss]

Si hay alguien en el mundo que no tiene gracia, es Itzhak Perlman

[macyx41984]

i rememer watching this when i was a kid and it still makes me ROLL

[superjules]

Looong way to go towards the Dead C

[worldviolist]

Nobody but Peter Schickele could make a joke at once enormously groan-worthy and side-splittingly hilarious...

[ablestmage]

I was expecting the G-string joke, myself. I'm pretty sure the Dead Sea Scrolls joke is also on the Wurst album, if I recall correctly. Quite fun, though!