Melodies and Motifs: Classical Again Quiz

Answer: Vivaldi - "Spring" (from "The Four Seasons")

Antonio Vivaldi finished "The Four Seasons" in 1720. Each of the concertos is well-known (though arguably "Spring" is the most well-known), and was meant to showcase the versatility of the violin. Each concerto was comprised of three parts, following a similar pattern, and had accompanying sonnets.

Answer: Strauss - "Also Sprach Zarathustra" ("2001: A Space Odyssey" theme)

Richard Strauss wrote "Also Sprach Zarathustra" ("Thus spoke Zarathustra) in 1896. It was inspired by a novel of the same name written by the famous philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. Seventy-two years later, it was used by Stanley Kubrick as the main theme for the movie "2001: A Space Odyssey."

Answer: Rimsky-Korsakov - "Flight of the Bumblebee"

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov wrote "The Flight of the Bumblebee" in 1900 as a part of the opera "The Tale of Tsar Saltan." It's a very fast piece with lots of half-tone jumps. The original composition had violins playing the melody, but now it's a common challenge to play it on other instruments less-suited for high-speed playing.

Answer: Bizet - "Habanera" (from "Carmen")

Georges Bizet composed his opera "Carmen" in 1875. "Habanera" was based on what Bizet thought was a folk song, but turned out to be a recent composition (1863) by Sebastian Iradier. "Habanera" means "music of Havana" (the capital of Cuba).

Answer: Tchaikovsky - "1812 Overture"

Despite the Solomon Short quote, "The only winner in the War of 1812 was Tchaikovsky," the "1812 Overture" was not about the War of 1812. It was about Russia halting Napoleon's advance into their country. Tchaikovsky wrote the piece in 1880, sixty-five years after Napoleon was defeated (the second time).

The piece calls for the use of actual cannons to be fired. Labels were printed on recordings of the piece, warning listeners of the possibility of damaging their speakers if they set the volume too high.

The piece was featured in the 2005 movie "V for Vendetta," based off the Alan Moore graphic novel.

Answer: Bach - Cello Suite No 1

Bach wrote six cello suites in the early 1700s, but the prelude (first part) of the first suite is the most popular. The piece can by quite challenging, with slurred phrases across multiple strings for the entire duration. Unlike the other songs in this quiz, this one was written for a solo instrument.

Answer: Wagner - "Ride of the Valkyries"

Richard Wagner wrote "Ride of the Valkyries" in 1870 as part of his opera, "Die Walküre." It is written in compound time, meaning the beats are sub-divided into three eighth notes instead of the usual two. This song was famously used in the 1979 movie "Apocalypse Now," during the helicopter attack on a Vietnamese village.

Answer: Offenbach - "Can Can"

The can-can is a type of dance from nineteenth century France; there were many can-cans written. Jacques Offenbach wrote the most famous one for his comedic opera, "Orphée aux Enfers," ("Orpheus in Hell") in 1858.

Answer: Dukas - "The Sorcerer's Apprentice"

Paul Dukas wrote "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" in 1897. Some renditions write this piece in 9/8 instead of 3/8 (combining three bars into one). Some may recognize this song from the 1940 move "Fantasia," when Mickey Mouse enchanted a bunch of mops to do the cleaning for him.

Answer: Beethoven - "Ode to Joy"

"Ode to Joy" was originally a poem written by Friedrich Schiller in 1785. Forty years later, Beethoven used it as part of his ninth symphony. "Ode to Joy" was adopted as the anthem for the Council of Europe (the predecessor of the European Union) in 1972.