Sonaga for 2nd French Horn, Piano and Page Turner

French horn, piano, page turner, string bass, trumpet, clarinet, another French horn, tuba (1970)



The three-movement sonaga (sic) quotes melodies from previously written pieces but the emphasis is on the numerous sight gags. (See the list below.) When Prof. Peter Schickele, long-time confidant of P.D.Q. Bach, visited the university I was attending, I gave him the Sonaga score and told him to use anything in it he wanted. (I was young and foolish. I’m older now, but still plenty foolish.) And, unless he thought of the gags separately, he did: Several of the Sonaga’s theatrical elements can be heard on P.D.Q. Bach’s “Concerto for Two Pianos vs. Orchestra.”

sonaga_for_second_french_horn
sonaga_sight_gags