Schickele Wit, Music Shine, Even Minus P.D.Q. Persona

For eight years, the locally based Armadillo String Quartet has hosted a tribute to the unique American musical figure Peter Schickele. On Monday night at Pasadena’s Neighborhood Church, the tradition continued, as the quartet, with guest musicians on hand, presented chamber music from his serious repertory.

As a composer, radio-show host and reformed satirist, who for many years adopted the wry persona of P.D.Q. Bach, Schickele has a reputation that keeps preceding him. But the New York-based composer has also built up an impressive catalog, including such pieces as Serenade for Three and Quartet for Clarinet, Violin, Cello and Piano, heard on Monday.

Despite a penchant for satire and linguistic and musical punsmanship, Schickele is a committed eclectic who leans toward poignance in slow movements and jazz-inflected rhythms--and Celtic and Renaissance influences--when things speed up. He has a flair for simple, fetching tunes and isn’t afraid to wear his heart on the sleeve.

Even in his serious mode, Schickele’s titles can reveal a prankster-ish side, as with “Little Mushrooms, Suite for Piano Four Hands Celebrating the 200th Anniversary of Schubert’s Birth.” A sweet-tempered piece, it was played by Bryan Pezzone and the composer himself.

The Armadillos--Barry Socher and Steven Scharf on violin, violist Raymond Tischer and cellist Armen Ksajikian--fared nicely on Schickele’s Quartet No. 4 “Inter-Era Dance Suite,” a mosaic of dance etudes ending on a spry note.

Schickele’s world premiere for the occasion was his String Quintet, with violist Roland Kato added to the quartet. The group encountered some intonationally challenged moments and ensemble raggedness, but the typically diverse and generous spirit of Schickele’s music shone through.

As the composer himself stated in one of his amusing oral program notes, his influences have included Shostakovich, Milhaud and, of course, Spike Jones.