A Time Voyage in Music History

15 Points Per Correct Answer - No time limit  

1. This Greek mythological figure was a muse of epic poetry herself; she gave birth to Orpheus, the most famous god of music. Her name was given to a 43 brass steam-whistle organ invented in the 1850’s whose sound is synonymous with circus. Who is she? Answer: (One word)

2. Which of the following famous music figures composed perhaps the most famous piece of music dedicated to a fish? Claude Debussy Wolfgang Mozart Franz Schubert Johannes Brahms

3. Which one of the following composer’s fathers was never a barber or barber-surgeon, a very respectable profession at their respective times? Antonio Vivaldi Johann Sebastian Bach George Friedrich Handel Claudio Monteverdi

4. Thomas Mann wrote a novel called “Death in Venice” in 1913. An amazing number of people in history managed to die there. Which of the following did NOT die in Venice? Claudio Monteverdi Antonio Vivaldi Richard Wagner Adrian Willaert

5. Vienna is a legendary musical capital. It saw the last breaths of several famous composers too, such as Haydn and Mozart. Which of the following composers did not die in Vienna? Johann Strauss Johann Sebastian Bach Antonio Vivaldi Ludwig Beethoven

6. Camille Saint-Saens (1835 –1921) was known for his famous “Carnival of the Animals” and yet publicly decried the silly gyrating animal theme of which of his following contemporaries? Claude Debussy Franz Liszt Hector Berlioz Francis Poulenc

7. This famous English pivotal personality in history was also known for composing such songs as “O Death, Rock Me Asleep” and “Defiled is My Name”. Executed for not producing a male heir to the throne in the Tower of London, who was this competent lute player and composer? Answer: (First and last name)

8. Which of the following Russian born composers became an American citizen then died in Beverly Hills, California shortly afterwards? Igor Stravinsky Peter Ilyitch Tchaikovsky Sergei Prokofiev Sergei Rachmaninoff

9. Who tried to promote the use of the saxophone newly created and patented by Adolphe Sax in 1846 in France, by using it in his compositions and debating its merits with other composers? Hector Berlioz Francis Poulenc Camille Saint-Saens Charles Gounod

10. The legendary violinist and composer Nicolo Paganini (1782 – 1840) played throughout Europe. He attracted crowds in his own time like the Beatles or Elvis Presley did in the twentieth century, often playing on one string, or tuning his violin differently. However, a very common story circulated about him, what was it? That he'd signed a pact with the Devil because he played so well. That he was really a member of the Russian aristocracy. That he was really the Pope's son. That he was a woman in disguise.

11. This Brazilian composer financed his musical training by selling off his father’s book collection, working in a match factory and travelling around his country, so he had a finger on the pulse of his country’s music. He had a definite preference for the guitar in his compositions as well as Bach. Who was he? Andre Segovia Carlos Jobim Carlos Montoya Heitor Villa-Lobos

12. The custom of the castrati, or boy singers castrated to keep their high voices, was practiced throughout history, the heyday was from 1600-1750. At one point 70 percent of the operatic singers were castrati. Some of them achieved great fame and had influence over people. People even wore medallions of them. Who was perhaps the most famous castrati soprano of his time in the 18th century? Senisimo Velluti Farinelli Moreschi

13. The famous Stradivarius violin comes from which Italian city? Milan Modena Venice Cremona

14. A very intriguing figure in the music world of the nineteenth century, this lady bore the maiden name of Liszt, from her father Franz Liszt’s affair with her mother the Comtesse d’Agoult who wrote under a male pseudonym. (Liszt had already had an affair with George Sand so perhaps this was his penchant). Then she was married off to the Baron Hans Von Bulow, a fervent admirer of Wagner like her father. Unfortunately, she also admired Wagner and gave her husband a child named, “Isolde” and then Siegfried. She divorced Von Bulow and married Wagner and after his death in 1883, became a music widow, keeping up the shrine to his memory at Bayreuth and receiving the crowds of his admirers. What was her name? Answer: (One word)

15. This composer born in Poland in 1810 of a French father and Polish mother had a stormy love affair with the famous writer George Sand until shortly before his death in 1849. The painter Eugene Delacroix, another member of Sand’s intimate circle painted them side-by-side. Then the canvas was separated when they parted. He died of TB. He was a true romantic with his nocturnes, often borrowing from Polish folkloric music. Who was he? Franz Liszt Reinhold Gliere Cesar Franck Frederic Chopin