Care To Consider A Quintessential Composers Quiz For Classical Connoisseurs?
Some of these may be a little tricky, some a little obscure, but this question is all in fun. So, enjoy!
1. One of Haydn’s early symphonies is noted primarily for it’s ‘walking 8s.’ Musically, what specific technique does the phrase refer to? For bonus points, which symphony and which movement is this quirky interpretation of physical movement found in?
2. Originally presented in 1910, revised or otherwise re-scored in 1911, 1919 and 1945, which version of this well-known composition is the more often one found in today’s symphonic repertoires? Knowing the answer, you already know both the composer and the name of the composition.
3. The son once said of his father’s orchestrations, “One thing the average layman doesn’t understand about my Dad’s perfectionism is this, when he replaced a C-sharp with a gunshot it had to be a C-sharp sounding gunshot or he wouldn’t use it.” Which rather well-known conductor, arranger and composer is the son referring to?
4. From F-major to sixty-something compressed Es, nothing like it had ever been composed before and nothing composed since is comparable. Name the composer, the name of the composition and the movement if you can?
5. Alfred Hitchcock once said of this well-esteemed contemporary composer, “Many composers express the world through rose colored glasses but he expresses the world without needing a prescription.” Which composer was Hitchcock referring to?
6. When Disco music was becoming the newest craze during the early 1970s a reporter asked Leonard Bernstein what he thought of the new sound? Bernstein, somewhat agitated, replied something like this, “New? What’s new about it? If I want to hear the original all I have to do is pull out the score to (here he mentions the name) and we play it ourselves.” What specific composition and what specific part of that composition by what famous composer was Bernstein mentioning?
Renaissance Man, two right. Pretty good.
Raymond, you must be a philosopher by nature. And, no, my friends, Bernstein was not referring to 'A Fifth Of'...' or 'The Fifth.'
I wish there had been more replies but what the hey. So, here goes:
1. The ‘walking 8s’ were Haydn’s way of depicting two philosophers on a leisurely stroll. From the First Movement of the 22nd.
2. This is, of course is Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite. The 1919 version is the one most often performed today as a stand-alone. I think this question was probably too easy.
3. Okay, Spike Jones isn’t exactly classical music but still a classic. Good call.
4. From the First Movement of Beethoven’ 7th. where the F-major transitions into sixty-something repetitions of the note E in sonata form.
5. I guess this was way too easy. Perhaps if I hadn’t name-dropped Hitchcock?
6. I said some of these were a little tricky. Again, this is from Beethoven’s 7th., the Forth Movement that Bernstein was talking about, the same movement that Wagner once said, tongue in cheek, was "apotheosis of modern dance’, Beechem said ‘sounded like a bunch of yaks doing their mating dance’ and von Weber claimed ‘s
This weekend I'll ask something again. Hopefully there will more brave souls responding. In the meanwhile, you might get a kick out of this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iiBhwZdXa2Y