The Definitive Biography of P. D. Q. Bach
By Peter Schikele Random House, 238 pp., $8.95 Humor and serious music have not always been the greatest of friends. When an opera audience breaks up over the basso buffo goosing tavern wenches, one may wonder if the two traditions have ever met, and ask oneself just what is an aficionado’s level of sophistication in the fun department. On the other hand, when musicians laugh about the givens of their world, the alliance of tunes and titters often has a way of reminding an outsider of academics chuckling over variants in Catullus. One is willing to grant that the joke may exist, but those footnotes do get in the way.
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