PDQ IS COMING TO TOWN. Late this month, a jolly bearded man is coming to town, bringing joy to men, women, and children who happen to be hard of hearing. Yes, from December 27-29, 2005, Peter Schickele will host three evenings of the music of P.D.Q. Bach at Symphony Space. (Carnegie Hall and Avery Fisher Hall have apparently caught on.)

This being the fortieth anniversary of P.D.Q. Bach concerts in New York City, the Schickele website considerately offers a commemorative multimedia timeline recapping the musical horrors that Schickele has visited upon the good people of Gotham over the decades.

An underappreciated aspect of these musical outrages is the photography used to promote them. The photographer, Peter Schaaf, has long collaborated with Schickele to create pictorial counterparts to P.D.Q. Bach events.

Among Schaaf's P.D.Q. Bach images is prize evidence of Schickele’s Tarzan-like entrance at Carnegie Hall in 1976, truly the stuff of local legend. The website also includes samples of Schaaf’s other work, including gorgeous close-ups of musical instruments. Check out his shots of flutist Patti Monson and trombonist Joseph Alessi here.

While you wait for the upcoming P.D.Q. Bach concerts, why not waste some time with Schickele’s crossword puzzles?

Photograph by Peter Schaaf