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Quiz about Surprising Facts Behind Popular Classics
Quiz about Surprising Facts Behind Popular Classics

Surprising Facts Behind Popular Classics Quiz


Are you a classical music "dummy" who has occasionally wondered about the various classical pieces which turn up in movies, on TV, at weddings, etc? This quiz is for you. Good luck!

A multiple-choice quiz by jouen58. Estimated time: 10 mins.
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Author
jouen58
Time
10 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
139,929
Updated
Aug 09 23
# Qns
25
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
17 / 25
Plays
5112
Awards
Top 5% quiz!
Last 3 plays: Guest 174 (25/25), Guest 77 (18/25), madfilkentist (20/25).
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Question 1 of 25
1. Let's start with wedding music. Everyone knows this piece as "Here Comes the Bride". It comes from a 19th century German opera about a knight of the Holy Grail, where it is performed not, as you might have thought, when the heroine is going down the aisle, but after the ceremony in the bridal chamber when she and the groom are being prepared for the wedding night. There is one small problem; the bride in question not only doesn't know the name of the man she's just married, she's also not supposed to ask! Hint


Question 2 of 25
2. Sometimes, particularly at more upscale weddings, this piece is used as the entrance march instead of "Here Comes the Bride". It was used at the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer, one of the more famously (and tragically) unsuccessful marriages in history. It so happens that the fellow who wrote it, Jeremiah Clarke, shot himself over an unhappy love affair, so perhaps the piece is bad luck. Clarke might have been even more depressed if he knew that his one famous piece would frequently be attributed to a more famous English composer. The correct title of the piece is "The Prince of Denmark's march" (no, it was not written for Hamlet, but for Prince George of Denmark, who was the consort of Queen Anne). I'm giving you the more usual (albeit incorrect) title below. Hint


Question 3 of 25
3. This piece is usually played at the end of the wedding, when the happy couple leaves the church. It is from the incidental music to a Shakespearean play, written by a nineteenth century German composer. At the end of the play, three couples are simultaneously joined in happy matrimony; these include a forgetful Greek hero and his Amazonian Queen, a couple who were in love, but her father objected, and a third couple in which the man is under the spell of some magic flower juice (courtesy of some helpful fairies), which has caused him to fall in love with a woman who had, frankly, a rather unhealthy obsession with him. Hint


Question 4 of 25
4. Another piece frequently heard at weddings is the "Ave Maria", usually in a setting by Schubert or Gounod. Ironically, neither of these pieces was originally a setting of the "Ave Maria" text.


Question 5 of 25
5. This piece is best known as the theme music from "The Lone Ranger". It is actually the last of four sections of a very long overture. The second and third sections of this overture describe a storm and its peaceful aftermath; these two sections have been used in numerous cartoons from the fifties and sixties. The very long opera which follows this very long overture is about the battle for Swiss independence from Austria. Hint


Question 6 of 25
6. This very tranquil piece of Baroque music became very popular in the late seventies and early eighties. It has been used in a GE lightbulb commercial, in the soundtrack for the movie "Ordinary People", and as background music for numerous boring, upscale dinner and cocktail parties. It consists of several repetitions (with variations & ornamentation) of an eight-note melody. Its composer was of German birth and wrote a large body of music, most of which (except for this one piece) is rarely performed. Hint


Question 7 of 25
7. Which of these pieces by British composer Edward Elgar is traditionally used for graduation ceremonies in the United States? Hint


Question 8 of 25
8. The Puccini soprano aria "O Mio Babbino caro", from "Gianni Schicchi", was used in the soundtrack of the film "A Room With a View". It turns up quite often in commercials for Italian food products, wine, etc. You might have assumed that it is a love song; actually it's from Puccini's only comic opera and is sung by the heroine, who is trying to convince her con-artist father to help an unscrupulous family forge a dead man's will, so that the heroine's fiance (who belongs to the aforementioned family) can afford to buy her the ring she wants.


Question 9 of 25
9. This piece is the background music for the "Beef, it's what's for dinner!" commercial. It is a country dance number from a 1942 ballet about a cattle roundup, which was choreographed by Cecil B. de Mille's niece. Hint


Question 10 of 25
10. You are undoubtedly familiar with this dance number from a French operetta based on a Greek myth; its most famous use in America, unfortunately, is in an irritating ShopRite commercial. What you might not know is that it is sung, and danced, in Hell. Hint


Question 11 of 25
11. This piece by a turn of the century French composer is one of the most popular and frequently performed classics. It has been used in the Blake Edwards movie "10", starring Bo Derek and the late Dudley Moore and was memorably skated to by Torvill and Dean at the 1984 Winter Olympics. Hint


Question 12 of 25
12. This twentieth century choral piece always seems to turn up whenever someone creates yet another Anti-Christ or Armageddon-themed movie. The text is in Latin, it is in a minor key and there are lots of clashing gongs and cymbals. Actually, the text has nothing to do with either Lucifer and his minions or world destruction; it is about the vicissitudes of Fortune. Hint


Question 13 of 25
13. If you are a devotee of Alfred Hitchcock. particularly his 1950's television series "Alfred Hitchcock Presents", you may recall his walking into a caricature of his profile to the accompaniment of a sinister and rather droll march tune. Which of these French classical pieces was used as Hitchcock's "theme"? Hint


Question 14 of 25
14. The music is almost invariably played, hummed, or whistled by someone whenever death or funerals are mentioned (Dum dum da-dum dum da-dum da-dum da-dum), sometimes with the words "Here comes the man with the lily in his hand". It was originally a movement from a piano sonata by a Polish composer, who died of tuberculosis at an early age. He also had an affair with author George Sand, who was actually a woman, though she dressed as a man. Who was the composer? Hint


Question 15 of 25
15. Countless babies have been lulled to sleep by "Brahms' Lullabye". I've always thought this was a good idea; it introduces children from the cradle to the music of one of the world's greatest composers, and it doesn't contain lines like "When the bough breaks, the cradle will fall/ and down will come baby, cradle and all!" This piece is one of several "lieder" (songs) written by the great German composer; it was composed in honor of the birth of a child to two of his friends, Bertha and Artur Faber in 1868. What you may not have known is that there is a teeny bit of scandal attached to this innocent piece - Brahms had once been in love with the baby's mother.


Question 16 of 25
16. The majestic theme for the PBS series "Masterpiece Theater" ("Rondeau") is by a composer of what national origin? Hint


Question 17 of 25
17. Which famous Christmas carol is sung to a melody by Felix Mendelssohn? Hint


Question 18 of 25
18. If you were around in the 1960's, you are probably familiar with a song entitled "Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah", in which a boy who is having a miserable time at summer camp begs his parents to take him home. The tune of this song was borrowed from the ballet music from a 19th century Italian opera. This music, in its original form, was also used in Walt Disney's "Fantasia" for the ballet of the hippos. Which of these pieces is it? Hint


Question 19 of 25
19. Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg's "Morning Mood", from his "Peer Gynt" suite, has been used in numerous commercials, mostly for breakfast products (orange juice, pancake syrup, margarine that tastes "just like butter" etc.) and features an alternating flute and oboe solo. This piece is from the incidental music to Ibsen's play "Peer Gynt" where it is performed between acts to depict, you guessed it, a sunrise. The sunrise takes place, however, not on the mountaintops of Norway (as you might have thought) but in the Arabian desert.


Question 20 of 25
20. Which of these Richard Strauss "tone poems" was used in the 1968 Stanley Kubrick film "2001: A Space Odyssey"? Hint


Question 21 of 25
21. "Primavera" ("Spring") from "Le Quattro Stagioni" ("The Four Seasons") is one of the most frequently heard classical pieces. Which Italian Baroque composer wrote this piece? Hint


Question 22 of 25
22. Handel's "Hallelujah Chorus" is known to practically everyone. Which of these surprising facts is true about this piece? Hint


Question 23 of 25
23. Beethoven's "Ode to Joy" from his Ninth Symphony is a well-known and loved piece. The text is from Schiller's "An die Freude". Which of these statements is true of the text of the "Ode to Joy"? Hint


Question 24 of 25
24. Johann Strauss Jr. wrote the famous "Blue Danube Waltz", with which you are undoubtedly familiar. Which of the following statements are true? Hint


Question 25 of 25
25. This wildly popular classical piece was reluctantly composed in 1880 in a little over a month for a ceremonial occasion commemorating the country's victory in a war earlier in the 19th century. Its composer didn't think much of it and described it simply as "Very loud and noisy". Hint



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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. Let's start with wedding music. Everyone knows this piece as "Here Comes the Bride". It comes from a 19th century German opera about a knight of the Holy Grail, where it is performed not, as you might have thought, when the heroine is going down the aisle, but after the ceremony in the bridal chamber when she and the groom are being prepared for the wedding night. There is one small problem; the bride in question not only doesn't know the name of the man she's just married, she's also not supposed to ask!

Answer: Wagner: Bridal Chorus from "Lohengrin"

When "Lohengrin" opens, young Gottfried, heir to the German throne, has disappeared during an outing with his sister Elsa, who stands accused of his murder. Her accuser is one Telramund, who argues that, in view of his wife Ortrud's noble lineage, he should be next in line for the throne. Unbeknownst to everyone, Ortrud, a sorceress, has transformed Gottfried into a swan. Elsa calls upon a knight, whom she has seen in a vision, to defend her, whereupon a boat appears on the water drawm by a swan (Gottfried, though no one knows this). A knight in shining armor alights and agrees to defend Elsa, on the condition that she shall never ask him to reveal his name. He defeats Telramund, who is stripped of his lands and honors. Lohengrin and Elsa are betrothed and married, however Ortrud has sown the seeds of suspicion in Elsa's mind.

On their wedding night, Elsa's doubts overwhelm her and she asks the fatal question, just before Telramud bursts in to have another go with the mysterious knight. Telramund is struck dead with a single blow. The next day, the knight reveals himself to Elsa and the king as Lohengrin, son of Parsifal (himself the subject of another Wagner opera) and bids farewell to Elsa (why, exactly, she couldn't know his name is never fully explained). Before leaving, he disenchants the swan and restores Gottfried to his sister. Ortrud shrieks with despair, Elsa swoons into Gottfried's arms, and Lohengrin sails off into the sunset, his boat now drawn by a dove (a dove?!). The famous "Bridal Chorus" is sung at the beginning of Act III. The actual words have little to do with "Here comes the bride", roughly translated they mean "Faithful and true now come ye forth, whom love and triumph now crown with joy".
2. Sometimes, particularly at more upscale weddings, this piece is used as the entrance march instead of "Here Comes the Bride". It was used at the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer, one of the more famously (and tragically) unsuccessful marriages in history. It so happens that the fellow who wrote it, Jeremiah Clarke, shot himself over an unhappy love affair, so perhaps the piece is bad luck. Clarke might have been even more depressed if he knew that his one famous piece would frequently be attributed to a more famous English composer. The correct title of the piece is "The Prince of Denmark's march" (no, it was not written for Hamlet, but for Prince George of Denmark, who was the consort of Queen Anne). I'm giving you the more usual (albeit incorrect) title below.

Answer: Purcell: Trumpet Voluntary

Clarke was made organist of the Chapel Royal in 1704. An emotionally unstable man, he became completely deranged by the failure of a romantic relationship and shot himself in 1707. The "Prince of Denmark's March" is part of a suite for wind instruments; it is not, technically speaking, a "voluntary" nor was it scored for trumpet.

The only piece of Clarke's to have achieved any popularity, it has often been misattributed to the great English composer Henry Purcell, who was of the generation prior to Clarke's (one of Purcell's Trumpet Tunes has a beginning similar to Clarke's march).
3. This piece is usually played at the end of the wedding, when the happy couple leaves the church. It is from the incidental music to a Shakespearean play, written by a nineteenth century German composer. At the end of the play, three couples are simultaneously joined in happy matrimony; these include a forgetful Greek hero and his Amazonian Queen, a couple who were in love, but her father objected, and a third couple in which the man is under the spell of some magic flower juice (courtesy of some helpful fairies), which has caused him to fall in love with a woman who had, frankly, a rather unhealthy obsession with him.

Answer: Mendelssohn: Wedding March from "A Midsummer Night's Dream"

Of the numerous plots that comprise Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream", the central plot is the double love triangle (square?)between Demetrius, who loves Hermia who, in turn, loves not Demetrius, but Lysander (who, you'll be happy to hear, loves Hermia as well). Hermia's father disapproves of Lysander and wants her to marry Demetrius. Demetrius, in turn, is loved by Helena, whom he does not love (got all that?).

Hermia's father appeals to Theseus, the famous Greek hero who defeated the Minotaur and escaped from the Labyrinth with the help of Ariadne, whom he promptly "forgot" on the island of Naxos. (He also, you'll recall, "forgot" to fly the white sail on his reentry to Athens, causing his father to believe him dead, upon which he threw himself off a cliff. I'm sure Dr. Freud would have had a lot to say about Theseus' "forgetfulness" if he hadn't been rather preoccupied with Oedipus). Anyway, Theseus is about to marry Hyppolyta, queen of the Amazons (try abandoning her on a desert island!). He declares that Hermia must marry Demetrius, upon which Hermia and Lysander run away to the woods where, eventually, the fairies put everything right and cause Demetrius to, at last, fall in love with Helena (who might otherwise have developed into a precursor of Glenn Close's "Fatal Attraction" character).

At the end, all three couples are joined in (hopefully) happy matrimony. Has anyone done a study on the possible connection between the music performed at weddings and the divorce rate? Anyway, Mendelssohn's incidental music to the play was composed in 1826 and is one of his most beloved works.
4. Another piece frequently heard at weddings is the "Ave Maria", usually in a setting by Schubert or Gounod. Ironically, neither of these pieces was originally a setting of the "Ave Maria" text.

Answer: True

The Schubert "Ave Maria" is the last of three songs based on Sir Walter Scott's "Lady of the Lake", all of which are sung by the heroine Ellen. The other two are "Jager, Ruhe von der Jagd" ("Hunter, rest from thy hunt") and "Raste, Krieger, Krieg ist Aus" ("Rest, warrior, the war is done").

The "Ave Maria" is a prayer to the Virgin sung by Ellen when she and her father are on a deserted island together (the accompaniment is meant to suggest waves lapping at the shore). Although each of the three verses begins with the words "Ave Maria", the subsequent text is in German and has nothing to do with the traditional Latin prayer.

The Gounod version began as the Prelude #1 in C Major by Bach from the "Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach", a collection of keyboard pieces which Bach dedicated to his wife. Gounod wrote a violin melody over this piece and titled it "Meditation". Later, the words of the "Ave Maria" were added and the piece became one of the most popular standards of the sacred repertoire. Ironically, Gounod wrote quite a lot of sacred music (including the "St. Cecilia Mass" and the oratorio "The Redemption"); however, none is as well known as this piece.
5. This piece is best known as the theme music from "The Lone Ranger". It is actually the last of four sections of a very long overture. The second and third sections of this overture describe a storm and its peaceful aftermath; these two sections have been used in numerous cartoons from the fifties and sixties. The very long opera which follows this very long overture is about the battle for Swiss independence from Austria.

Answer: Rossini: Overture to "William Tell"

The "William Tell" overture begins with an elegaic section in the lower strings describing a mountain sunrise. There follows a vivid depiction of a storm, after which a pastoral duet ensues for flute and English horn, whose melody is evocative of Swiss yodeling tunes.

A sudden trumpet fanfare heralds the famous concluding "call to arms" section. This famous melody reappears in the ballet music later in the opera, though it is arranged much differently. Rossini's "William Tell" is rarely performed because of its great length (about five hours) and the thinness and predictability of its plot (the buildup to the apple-shooting in Act I is particularly tedious; is there ANYONE who doesn't know how that's going to turn out?), however the overture remains an extremely popular concert piece.
6. This very tranquil piece of Baroque music became very popular in the late seventies and early eighties. It has been used in a GE lightbulb commercial, in the soundtrack for the movie "Ordinary People", and as background music for numerous boring, upscale dinner and cocktail parties. It consists of several repetitions (with variations & ornamentation) of an eight-note melody. Its composer was of German birth and wrote a large body of music, most of which (except for this one piece) is rarely performed.

Answer: Pachelbel: Canon in D

Johann Pachelbel was a German composer and organist, born c.1653. The "Canon", unquestionably his best-known piece, was scored for three violins and continuo (bass instrument), although an edition for organ also exists. The Canon, as written, is accompanied by another piece, the "Gigue", though it is usually performed alone.

The score to the movie "Ordinary People" was arranged by Marvin Hamlisch from the Pachelbel work.
7. Which of these pieces by British composer Edward Elgar is traditionally used for graduation ceremonies in the United States?

Answer: Pomp and Circumstance No. 1

"Pomp and Circumstance" is actually a group of five marches by the turn-of-the-century composer (a sixth march was left incomplete). The best-known is No. 1, which is used traditionally in graduation ceremonies here, but was not originally intended for that purpose.

When the piece premiered in 1901, the famous English contralto Dame Clara Butt (yes, that was her name!) asked the composer if he could compose a song or anthem for her with a similar tune. Elgar offered the tune to poet Arthur Christopher Benson, who wrote the poem "Land of Hope and Glory" to be sung to it.

It was performed at the coronation of Edward VII later in 1901. In 1904, Elgar traveled to America to receive an honorary degree from Yale University. In his honor, the march was performed at this ceremony, along with music of other composers, and its future as America's official graduation march was sealed.
8. The Puccini soprano aria "O Mio Babbino caro", from "Gianni Schicchi", was used in the soundtrack of the film "A Room With a View". It turns up quite often in commercials for Italian food products, wine, etc. You might have assumed that it is a love song; actually it's from Puccini's only comic opera and is sung by the heroine, who is trying to convince her con-artist father to help an unscrupulous family forge a dead man's will, so that the heroine's fiance (who belongs to the aforementioned family) can afford to buy her the ring she wants.

Answer: True

Puccini's "Gianni Schicchi" is one of three short operas which comprise his "Il Trittico" (the other two are "Il Tabarro" and "Suor Angelica"). In this opera, the wealthy Donati family are stunned when Buoso Donati, the oldest and wealthiest of them all, dies leaving his entire estate to the local monastery. The youngest Donati, Rinucchio, appeals for help to the wily, nouveau riche Gianni Schicchi, who is the father of his intended bride, Lauretta. In spite of his hatred for the snobbish Donati family (the feeling is mutual) he schemes with them to impersonate the dead man (only the family know that he is dead) and dictate a new will. The family is in for an unpleasant surprise, however, when Gianni leaves the choicest items- the house in Florence, the sawmills at Signa, and the mule (the equivalent of a luxury automobile in medieval Florence)- to himself. He excuses himself to the audience by explaining that he did it for the sake of his daughter and Rinucchio.

Schicchi was an actual person; his story was known to Dante, who placed him in his "Inferno". "O Mio Babbino Caro" occurs early in the opera, when Schicchi refuses to help out of disgust at the hypocritical Donati's behavior. Lauretta pleads to her "dearest Daddy" that, if she cannot marry handsome Rinucchio and go to the Porta Rossa (a jewelry store on the Ponte Vecchio) to buy the ring she wants, she will throw herself into the Arno. "Daddy" caves in to his little girl's wishes and agrees to help.
9. This piece is the background music for the "Beef, it's what's for dinner!" commercial. It is a country dance number from a 1942 ballet about a cattle roundup, which was choreographed by Cecil B. de Mille's niece.

Answer: Copland: "Hoedown" from "Rodeo"

Born in 1900 in New York, Copland was the son of immigrant Russian Jews. He became the foremost American composer of the Twentieth century; his music, which includes "Fanfare for the Common Man", "Appalachian Spring", the opera "The Tender Land", and the ballets "Billy the Kid" and "Rodeo".

The latter was choreographed by Agnes de Mille, niece of Cecil, who was also responsible for the ground-breaking choreography for the musicals "Oklahoma", "Carousel", and "Brigadoon". Though Copland was discreet regarding his private life and avoided publicity, he was openly gay long before it became fashionable, or acceptable, to be so. Copland died in 1990.
10. You are undoubtedly familiar with this dance number from a French operetta based on a Greek myth; its most famous use in America, unfortunately, is in an irritating ShopRite commercial. What you might not know is that it is sung, and danced, in Hell.

Answer: Offenbach: Can Can from "Orphee aux Enfers"

First performed in 1858, the Offenbach operetta was a comic sendup of the romantic Greek legend of Orpheus, who descended into Hades to retrieve his beloved Euridice from the realm of death. In this version, the god's and goddesses are bored with their cushy life on Mount Olympus, endlessly swilling ambrosia. Orphee is rather pleased to have gotten rid of his nagging bride, and Euridice has found that the nether world is not such a bad place; for one thing, she no longer has to listen to her husband's fiddling.

The "Galop Infernal" (known as the "CanCan") is a jolly piece performed by the denizens of Hades. Mark Twain, the famous American author, wrote enthusiastically about the CanCan after a trip to Paris; however, he cautioned "Don't ask your gran to do it!"
11. This piece by a turn of the century French composer is one of the most popular and frequently performed classics. It has been used in the Blake Edwards movie "10", starring Bo Derek and the late Dudley Moore and was memorably skated to by Torvill and Dean at the 1984 Winter Olympics.

Answer: Ravel's "Bolero"

Written in 1928 in response to dancer Ida Rubenstein's request for music for a dance on a Spanish theme, this piece was instantly successful and is, without doubt, Ravel's most well-known composition. His reaction to its tremendous success was somewhat mixed; he was once quoted as saying "I have written only one masterpiece. Alas, it has no music!". Recently, it has been suggested that the numerous repetitions of the same melody in this work may have been an indication of the onset of Alzheimer's disease, or of the brain tumor from which the composer is believed to have died.
12. This twentieth century choral piece always seems to turn up whenever someone creates yet another Anti-Christ or Armageddon-themed movie. The text is in Latin, it is in a minor key and there are lots of clashing gongs and cymbals. Actually, the text has nothing to do with either Lucifer and his minions or world destruction; it is about the vicissitudes of Fortune.

Answer: "O Fortuna" from Orff's "Carmina Burana"

Composed in 1936, Orff's "Carmina Burana" is a "profane cantata" using medieval texts written in Latin and Middle-High German. The texts deal with love, both spiritual and physical, the awakening of spring, drinking, eating, and gambling. "O Fortuna", which compares Fortune to the Moon in its ever-changing nature, opens and closes this unique work.
13. If you are a devotee of Alfred Hitchcock. particularly his 1950's television series "Alfred Hitchcock Presents", you may recall his walking into a caricature of his profile to the accompaniment of a sinister and rather droll march tune. Which of these French classical pieces was used as Hitchcock's "theme"?

Answer: Gounod: Funeral March for a Marionette

The Gounod piece was originally one of a series of short pieces for piano; it was later orchestrated and became a popular concert piece. The first chapter of Gaston Leroux's "Le Phantom de l'Opera" describes a concert at which a number of famous composers of the day conduct their own pieces; Gounod is described as conducting this piece.

It struck just the right note, droll yet macabre, for Alfred Hitchcock's entrance music. The Saint Saens "March of the Lions", by the way, was once used on the Dreyfus insurance agency commercial, in which the "Dreyfus" lion steps down from his pedestal and walks along the sidewalks.
14. The music is almost invariably played, hummed, or whistled by someone whenever death or funerals are mentioned (Dum dum da-dum dum da-dum da-dum da-dum), sometimes with the words "Here comes the man with the lily in his hand". It was originally a movement from a piano sonata by a Polish composer, who died of tuberculosis at an early age. He also had an affair with author George Sand, who was actually a woman, though she dressed as a man. Who was the composer?

Answer: Frederic Chopin

The "Funeral March" is the penultimate movement of Chopin's Piano Sonata No. 2 in B flat minor, composed in 1839. Actually, the march had been composed two years earlier, in 1837, at the monastery of Valldemosa in Mallorca. Chopin described composing it one "lugubrious night" after some "accursed creatures" appeared to him in a vision. Eleven years later, in 1848, he was playing this sonata for some friends in England when he had another vision of these creatures rising from the piano.

He stepped outside momentarily to compose himself, then resumed playing without saying anything. Chopin, who suffered from tuberculosis much of his life, died the following year; this piece was played at his funeral.
15. Countless babies have been lulled to sleep by "Brahms' Lullabye". I've always thought this was a good idea; it introduces children from the cradle to the music of one of the world's greatest composers, and it doesn't contain lines like "When the bough breaks, the cradle will fall/ and down will come baby, cradle and all!" This piece is one of several "lieder" (songs) written by the great German composer; it was composed in honor of the birth of a child to two of his friends, Bertha and Artur Faber in 1868. What you may not have known is that there is a teeny bit of scandal attached to this innocent piece - Brahms had once been in love with the baby's mother.

Answer: True

Brahms once had a romance with Bertha long before her marriage. They remained friends after the romance ended, but the composer still had feelings for her. She used to sing him a love song in 3/4 time; he later composed the "Wiegenlied" as a counterpoint to this melody, thus reminding her, as she sang the piece to her baby, of the love song she had once sung to him.
16. The majestic theme for the PBS series "Masterpiece Theater" ("Rondeau") is by a composer of what national origin?

Answer: French

This regal melody is the "Rondeau" by the seventeenth-century composer Jean Joseph Mouret from his "Symphonies des Fanfares", written for the court of Louis XIV. The piece, which many people assume to be of British origin, is typical of music written in France during the reign of the "Sun King" who, at one point, waged an unsuccessful war with England to restore the Catholic James II to the throne.
17. Which famous Christmas carol is sung to a melody by Felix Mendelssohn?

Answer: Hark, the Herald Angels Sing!

Mendelssohn used this tune in a cantata entitled "Festgesang", a piece praising Johannes Gutenberg, which was written for a festival commemorating the 400th anniversary of the invention of the printing press. He was very fond of the tune and was sorry to have used it in a "piece d'occasion", which would probably not be performed again.

He hoped that someone would set other words to it so that it could be performed more often, however he insisted that the tune was all wrong for a church hymn or religious piece (which shows that composers arent always the best judge of their own music).

The Christmas text to which it is now inexorably wedded is by the great 18th century hymn writer Charles Wesley. Although this text is now almost invariably performed to the Mendelsohnn tune, it had been set by other composers both before and since.
18. If you were around in the 1960's, you are probably familiar with a song entitled "Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah", in which a boy who is having a miserable time at summer camp begs his parents to take him home. The tune of this song was borrowed from the ballet music from a 19th century Italian opera. This music, in its original form, was also used in Walt Disney's "Fantasia" for the ballet of the hippos. Which of these pieces is it?

Answer: Ponchielli: "Dance of the Hours" from "La Gioconda"

"La Gioconda" is the only opera of Amilcare Ponchielli to have achieved any lasting popularity. It is also possibly the funniest opera ever written, albeit unintentionally. I vividly remember a televised San Francisco opera production in the early 1980's with Luciano Pavarotti as Enzo Grimaldi, the prince disguised as a poor fisherman.

The leading mezzo actually kept a straight face when Pavarotti, wearing a black and silver getup with a fishnet slung over one shoulder, sang "But tell me, Laura dearest, how did you recognize me in my fisherman's disguise?" The "Dance of the Hours" is a ballet performed during the third act and provides some relief from all the unintentional hilarity.

It is the best known piece from the opera; other celebrated selections include the tenor aria "Cielo e Mar", and the soprano aria "Suicidio!" (which is sung when the soprano is contemplating suicide, in case you missed the subtle imagery of that title).
19. Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg's "Morning Mood", from his "Peer Gynt" suite, has been used in numerous commercials, mostly for breakfast products (orange juice, pancake syrup, margarine that tastes "just like butter" etc.) and features an alternating flute and oboe solo. This piece is from the incidental music to Ibsen's play "Peer Gynt" where it is performed between acts to depict, you guessed it, a sunrise. The sunrise takes place, however, not on the mountaintops of Norway (as you might have thought) but in the Arabian desert.

Answer: True

At this point in the story Peer Gynt, a village ne'er-do-well who has embarked on a series of picaresque adventures, is posing as an Arabian "prophet" and is involved in the sale of religious items. He is in love with Anitra, an Arabian girl who entrances him with her dancing and makes off with his purse. Because this piece is the first number of the two "Peer Gynt" suites, most people asume that it sets the mood for the beginning of the play, which does open in a Norwegian village; actually it appears much later in the story.
20. Which of these Richard Strauss "tone poems" was used in the 1968 Stanley Kubrick film "2001: A Space Odyssey"?

Answer: Thus Spake Zarathustra

Composed in 1896, this piece is unique among Strauss' tone poems in that it is not based on a narrative story, but on Friedrich Nietschie's epic 1885 poem "Also Sprach Zarathustra". This work, loosely based on the philosophy of the pre-Christian Persian mystic and prophet Zoroaster, was a rejection of the Christian ethic of meekness and humility and promoted the idea of the "Ubermenschen" ("Superman"), an idea which would be monstrously re-interpreted by Adolf Hitler in Strauss' own time. Strauss, who was totally uninterested in politics, would (not unjustly) come under great criticism for his passive attitude toward the Nazi regime.
21. "Primavera" ("Spring") from "Le Quattro Stagioni" ("The Four Seasons") is one of the most frequently heard classical pieces. Which Italian Baroque composer wrote this piece?

Answer: Antonio Vivaldi

Vivaldi was ordained a priest in 1703 and was known as "the red priest" (il prete rosso) for his flaming red hair. Not long after being ordained, he begged off of his priestly duties, citing a chest ailment which supposedly caused him to have to leave the altar during Mass. Several biographers have noted that this disorder never seemed to afflict Vivaldi during lengthy concerts, and it is generally believed that he faked the ailment to spend more time in music composition and performance. "The Four Seasons", which featured in an Alan Alda movie of the same title from 1980, was composed in the 1720s and is undoubtedly his most famous work, notably the opening movement of "Primavera" ("Springtime").
22. Handel's "Hallelujah Chorus" is known to practically everyone. Which of these surprising facts is true about this piece?

Answer: All of these

The "Hallelujah" chorus ends the second of three sections of Handel's "Messiah". The first section of "Messiah" is the "Christmas" section, dealing with the advent and birth of Christ. The second section deals with the passion and resurrection, ending with the "Hallelujah".

The third and final section deals with the Second Coming and last judgement. It ends with the mighty chorus "Worthy is the Lamb", which comprises three sections: the chorale-like opening, the fugue "Blessing and honor, glory and power" and the great "Amen" fugue.

The "Hallelujah" chorus from Messiah is undoubtedly the most famous one Handel wrote, but there are others, notably the "Hallelujah, Amen" chorus which concludes "Judas Maccabeus".
23. Beethoven's "Ode to Joy" from his Ninth Symphony is a well-known and loved piece. The text is from Schiller's "An die Freude". Which of these statements is true of the text of the "Ode to Joy"?

Answer: All of these

The ode "An die Freude" was written by Friedrich Schiller in 1785. Beethoven had originally intended to set the entire poem, but eventually used a shortened version. Schiller, in later years, described "An die Freude" as "a bad poem" and its philosophy of a world united by the healing power of joy was out of vogue by the time Beethoven wrote his Ninth Symphony.

However Beethoven saw beyond the fashionable philosophies of his time, and the "Ode to Joy" remains one of the most universal classics of all time. Choruses from around the world sang it for the 1998 winter Olympic games at Nagano, Japan; Leonard Bernstein performed it at the site of the fallen Berlin Wall (with altered text, as "An die Freiheit", or "Ode to Freedom").

Its melody has been used for several church hymns and was adopted as the European anthem.
24. Johann Strauss Jr. wrote the famous "Blue Danube Waltz", with which you are undoubtedly familiar. Which of the following statements are true?

Answer: All of these

"An Der Schanen Blaue Donau" was originally written for male chorus and orchestra. It was unsuccessful at its premiere, partly because the text Strauss chose was considered subversive and had given offense. It achieved much greater success as an orchestral piece, without the offending text; however, the choral version is sometimes still performed, notably by the Vienna Boy's Choir. Johann Strauss jr.'s grandfather had been the proprietor of "Zum Guten Hirten", a rather derelict and not terribly successful tavern which was frequented mostly by riverboat men.

A man of moody and depressive temperament, he drowned himself in the Danube shortly after remarrying following the death of his first wife.
25. This wildly popular classical piece was reluctantly composed in 1880 in a little over a month for a ceremonial occasion commemorating the country's victory in a war earlier in the 19th century. Its composer didn't think much of it and described it simply as "Very loud and noisy".

Answer: Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture"

In 1880, Tchaikovsky received a commission to compose a ceremonial piece to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Russian victory over Napoleon in the war of 1812. He composed the piece in a little over a month, utilising both the Russian national anthem and "La Marseillaise".

The piece premiered on August 20, 1882 and was an overwhelming success. Tchaikovsky conducted a performance in the year of his death, 1893. Its popularity in America is largely due to the July 4th concerts of the Boston Pops Orchestra, a tradition dating back to about 1929 by Arthur Fiedler.

This tradition continues to this day, even though the piece has nothing whatsoever to do with the United States. Tchaikovsky never had much enthusiasm for the piece and musicians and musicologists generally consider it not one of his more distinguished works, however its popularity has outstripped even his "Nutcracker" ballet and his Piano Concerto No. 1.
Source: Author jouen58

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