Peter Schickele (born July 17, 1935) is a comedian, composer, conductor and pianist best known for his parodies and satires of classical music – most often written through the fictional character of “P.D.Q. Bach”, the profoundly untalented “twenty-first of Johann Sebastian Bach’s twenty children.”

His comedy and live shows incorporate slapstick, elaborate puns, and performances of P.D.Q. Bach’s “music” that sometimes feature odd instruments (such as the “pastaphone” and the “schlagenfrappe”, the latter of which is simply a set of tuned cardboard tubes that the player hits himself on the head with); he has also written original music that is attributed to himself.

He has won five Grammy Awards; between 1990 and 1993, he won four consecutive Grammys for Best Comedy Album.