He earned his fifth Grammy, for best classical crossover album, for “Hornsmoke,” which includes his serious compositions “Horse Opera for Brass Quintet,” Piano Concerto No. 2, and other pieces.
Mr. Schickele's classical recordings also include Quartet No. 1, “American Dreams,” by the Audubon Quartet; “Schickele on a Lark,” by the Lark Quartet; and “American Chamber Ensemble Plays Peter Schickele.”
He wrote the score for the 1972 science fiction film “Silent Running,” starring Bruce Dern. With Robert Dennis and Stanley Walden, he also contributed songs to the Broadway revue “Oh! Calcutta!
Schickele and his wife, who survives him, divide their time between homes on Manhattan's Upper West Side and in Bearsville. In addition to her and her daughter, Karla, he is survived by a son, Matthew, and two grandchildren.
In the early 1990s, Schickele, tired of the road and also, albeit slightly, of PDQ Bach, took a long sabbatical and focused on his new radio show, “Schickele Mix.” Distributed nationally for some 15 years, he featured it in serious discussions of music, combined with performances of works by composers as diverse as Chopin, Gershwin and Philip Glass.
In the 21st century, when the radio show had come to an end, Schickele revived PDQ. In 2015, he held a 50th anniversary gala concert at City Hall.
