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Quiz about A Grand Grand Composer Malcolm Arnold

A Grand, Grand Composer: Malcolm Arnold Quiz

The music of the English composer Malcolm Arnold has never been as much appreciated as it deserves. Hopefully, this quiz about some of his best-known works will encourage you to listen to some of them.

A multiple-choice quiz by stedman. Estimated time: 4 mins.

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Author
stedman

Time
4 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
168,457

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
7 / 10

Plays
666

Awards
Top 35% Quiz

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. Malcolm Arnold was born on 21st October 1921, in which English county town? Hint

York

Northampton

Cambridge

Lincoln

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Question 2 of 10

2. Some of Malcolm Arnold's most popular works are his suites of dances inspired by different regions of the British Isles. Which of the following is NOT one of them? Hint

Yorkshire Dances

Cornish Dances

English Dances

Scottish Dances

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Question 3 of 10

3. Another of Malcolm Arnold's most popular works is an overture based on a poem by the Scottish poet Robert Burns. What is the name of this poem? Hint

The Cotter's Saturday Night

Holy Willie's Prayer

The Jolly Beggars

Tam O'Shanter

4. During the 1950s and 60s, Malcolm Arnold wrote the scores for many British films, working with some of the finest directors of the time. For which film, directed by David Lean, did Arnold win an Oscar? Hint

Great Expectations

Ryan's Daughter

The Bridge on the River Kwai

Doctor Zhivago

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Question 5 of 10

5. Malcolm Arnold wrote the music for a number of ballets. One of these was based on the story of a notorious murderer who was later to be the subject of a musical by Stephen Sondheim. What was the name of this character? Hint

Jack the Ripper

Lee Harvey Oswald

Edward Crippen

Sweeney Todd

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Question 6 of 10

6. Malcolm Arnold has written nine symphonies, the seventh of which is dedicated "To Katherine, Robert and Edward". Who are these dedicatees? Hint

His three children

His wife and brothers-in-law

His sister and brothers

Three conductors closely associated with his work

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Question 7 of 10

7. Malcolm Arnold wrote a number of concertos, often inspired by the particular musical talents of the dedicatee. His "Second Horn Concerto" was dedicated to, and given its first performance by, which famous English horn player? Hint

Yehudi Menuhin

Julian Lloyd-Webber

Eugene Goossens

Dennis Brain

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Question 8 of 10

8. Malcolm Arnold also wrote a number of important works for that peculiarly English ensemble, the brass band. One of these was written for the inauguration of the lifeboat station at which Cornish seaside town, the name of which is included in the title of the piece? Hint

St Austell

Penzance

Padstow

St Ives

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Question 9 of 10

9. Which British political organisation commissioned Arnold's "Peterloo Overture" in 1968? Hint

The Labour Party

The Conservative Party

The Trades Union Congress (TUC)

The Communist Party of Great Britain

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Question 10 of 10

10. One of Malcolm Arnold's most popular works - and the inspiration for the title of this quiz - is his "Grand, Grand Overture". This is scored for a traditional symphony orchestra, but with parts for which unusual items, not normally known for their musical qualities? Hint

A length of garden hose and a whoopee cushion

Six Siamese cats, a parrot and a frog

A washing machine, two toasters and a cuckoo clock

Three vacuum cleaners and an electric floor polisher

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Malcolm Arnold was born on 21st October 1921, in which English county town?

Answer: Northampton

Northampton was also the birthplace of the composers Edmund Rubbra (1901-1985) and William Alwyn (1905-1985). There must have been something in the water during those first decades of the twentieth century!

2. Some of Malcolm Arnold's most popular works are his suites of dances inspired by different regions of the British Isles. Which of the following is NOT one of them?

Answer: Yorkshire Dances

He also wrote sets of Irish and Welsh dances, as well as (in 1990) "A Manx Suite", which was his last published work.

3. Another of Malcolm Arnold's most popular works is an overture based on a poem by the Scottish poet Robert Burns. What is the name of this poem?

Answer: Tam O'Shanter

The poem tells of the drunken Tam O'Shanter's encounter with a coven of witches in the churchyard of Alloway Kirk, and his narrow escape across the bridge over the River Doon. Arnold's music brilliantly captures the mood of the poem, from Tam's drunken antics to the wild dancing of the witches.

Answer: The Bridge on the River Kwai

In total, he composed the music for over a hundred films. These include two others directed by David Lean, "The Sound Barrier" and "Hobson's Choice", as well as the "St Trinian's" series of comedy films, based on the antics of Ronald Searle's cartoon schoolgirls.

Answer: Sweeney Todd

Arnold's music for the 1950s ballet is rather more light-hearted than Sondheim's dramatic and serious treatment of the subject.

6. Malcolm Arnold has written nine symphonies, the seventh of which is dedicated "To Katherine, Robert and Edward". Who are these dedicatees?

Answer: His three children

Arnold has said that each of the symphony's three movements contains a loose portrayal of one of his children.

Answer: Dennis Brain

Dennis Brain was tragically killed in a car accident only weeks after giving the premiere of this work in 1957. The other names were all dedicatees of works by Arnold written for their own particular instrument: Goossens the oboe, Menuhin the violin and Lloyd-Webber the cello.

Answer: Padstow

"The Padstow Lifeboat" contains a representation of the notoriously discordant foghorn of Trevose Lighthouse, just along the coast from Padstow. This gloriously dissonant sound punctuates the piece at regular intervals.

9. Which British political organisation commissioned Arnold's "Peterloo Overture" in 1968?

Answer: The Trades Union Congress (TUC)

The work was commissioned by the TUC for the centenary of its first meeting in 1868. The music commemorates the so-called "Peterloo Massacre" of 1819, when a troop of cavalry intervened to break up a peaceful political meeting. In the ensuing panic, 11 people were killed and 400 injured.

Answer: Three vacuum cleaners and an electric floor polisher

This unique work, written for the 1956 Hoffnung Music Festival, was dedicated to the late President Hoover of the United States of America.

Source: Author stedman

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor ralzzz before going online.
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