MUSIC

Peter Schickele, the musical satirist behind P.D.Q. Bach, cracked up a New Orleans audience Friday by presenting “this year’s musician of the month” award to a member of the Crescent City’s financially strapped symphony. “It is a very coveted award,” Schickele announced as he cited principal clarinetist Steven Cohen for the bogus award. “It means the winner gets paid.” The New Orleans symphony, burdened with $4 million in overdue bank loans, has missed payrolls this year, and Schickele’s presentation brought howls of laughter from musicians on stage as well as from members of the audience. “How does it feel to play with a great symphony like this?” Schickele asked Cohen. “It’s a gig,” the tuxedo-clad clarinetist said, joining the joke. “I’d rather be playing Dixieland.”