Part V. The Romantic Period
Student: ___________________________________________________________________________
1.
Romanticism, as a stylistic period in western art music, encompassed the years
A. 1450-1600
B. 1600-1750
C. 1750-1820
D. 1820-1900
Answer: D
2.
Which of the following is not characteristic of romanticism?
A. A fascination with fantasy
B. An emphasis on balance and clarity of structures
C. An enthusiasm for the culture of the Middle Ages
D. An interest in exoticism and the past
Answer: B
3.
Which of the following is not a characteristic aspect of romanticism in literature and painting?
A. Emotional restraint
B. Emotional subjectivity
C. Exoticism
D. Fantasy
Answer: A
4.
Of all the inspirations for romantic art, none was more important than
A. the aristocracy.
B. ancient Greek art and culture.
C. nature.
D. the church.
Answer: C
5.
Which of the following composers is not associated with the romantic period?
A. Giuseppe Verdi
B. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
C. Robert Schumann
D. Frédéric Chopin
Answer: B
6.
Drawing creative inspiration from cultures of lands foreign to the composer is known as
A. exoticism.
B. nationalism.
C. program music.
D. verismo.
Answer: A
7.
Fascination with national identity also led composers to draw on colorful materials from foreign
lands, a trend known as musical
A. nationalism.
B. exoticism.
C. collectivism.
D. individualism.
Answer: B
8.
Program music is
A. music that depicts aspects of nature.
B. vocal music that tells a story.
C. instrumental music associated with a story, poem, idea, or scene.
D. All answers are correct.
Answer: C
9.
Which of the following statements is not true?
A.
B.
Romantic music puts unprecedented emphasis on self-expression and individuality of style.
Fascination with the melodies, rhythms, and colorful materials from distant lands is a
romantic trend known as musical nationalism.
C. Romantic composers relied upon a more prominent use of chromatic harmony, or the use of
chords containing tones not found in the prevailing major or minor scale.
D. A romantic composition tends to have a wide variety of keys and rapid modulations.
Answer: B
10. The deliberate intent to draw creative inspiration from the composer's own homeland is known as
A. exoticism.
B. individualism.
C. nationalism.
D. verismo.
Answer: C
11. Composers expressed musical nationalism in their music by
A. using the rhythms of the dances of their homelands.
B. using their national legends as subject matter.
C. basing their music on the folk songs of their country.
D. All answers are correct.
Answer: D
12. An orchestra toward the end of the romantic period might include close to ______ musicians.
A. 24
B. 40
C. 60
D. 100
Answer: D
13. The orchestra in the romantic period
A. was basically the same as in the classical period.
B. ranged from twenty to sixty players.
C. was larger and more varied in tone color than the classical orchestra.
D. had a limited dynamic range due to the primitive nature of the brass instruments.
Answer: C
14. The 1844 Treatise on Modern Instrumentation and Orchestration that signaled the recognition of
orchestration as an art in itself was written by
A. Franz Liszt.
B. Robert Schumann.
C. Hector Berlioz.
D. Bedřich Smetana.
Answer: C
15. Which of the following statements is not true of the piano in the early romantic period?
A. A cast-iron frame was introduced to hold the strings under greater tension.
B. The use of the damper pedal allowed a sonorous blend of tones from all registers of the piano.
C. The piano's range remained basically the same as in the classical period.
D. The piano's hammers were covered with felt.
Answer: C
16. A slight holding back or pressing forward of tempo in music is known as
A. ritardando.
B. rubato.
C. accelerando.
D. fermata.
Answer: B
17. A slight slowing down or speeding up of the tempo, characteristically employed in the performance
of much romantic music, is
A. ostinato.
B. chromatic.
C. syncopation.
D. rubato.
Answer: D
18. Altering the character of a melody by changes in dynamics, orchestration, or rhythm is a romantic
technique known as
A. thematic transformation.
B. melodic evolution.
C. rubato.
D. development.
Answer: A
19. Which of the following statements is not true?
A.
Romantic composers rejected the basic forms of the classical period and preferred to develop
new forms of their own.
B. Hector Berlioz's Treatise on Modern Instrumentation and Orchestration, published in 1844,
signaled the recognition of orchestration as an art in itself.
C. Musical nationalism was expressed when romantic composers deliberately created music with
a specific national identity.
D. To intensify the expression of the music, romantic performers made use of rubato, the slight
holding back or pressing forward of tempo.
Answer: A
20. Because of the French Revolution and the __________________, many aristocrats could no longer
afford to maintain private opera houses, orchestras, and "composers in residence".
A. American Revolution
B. Napoleonic Wars
C. French and Indian War
D. wages of skilled performers
Answer: B
21. Which of the following statements is not true?
A.
Romantic composers wrote primarily for a middle-class audience whose size and prosperity
had increased because of the industrial revolution.
B. Romantic musicians often composed to execute a commission or meet the demands of an
aristocratic or church patron.
C. Music conservatories were founded in Chicago, Cleveland, Boston, Oberlin, and Philadelphia
during the 1860s.
D. The nineteenth-century public was captivated by virtuosity.
Answer: B
22. The composer whose career was a model for many romantic composers was
A. Ludwig van Beethoven.
B. Joseph Haydn.
C. Johann Sebastian Bach.
D. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
Answer: A
23. All of the following romantic composers were also virtuoso instrumentalists giving solo recitals
except
A. Clara Wieck Schumann.
B. Franz Liszt.
C. Niccolò Paganini.
D. Hector Berlioz.
Answer: D
24. A romantic composer who earned his living as a touring virtuoso was
A. Franz Liszt.
B. Hector Berlioz.
C. Frédéric Chopin.
D. Franz Schubert.
Answer: A
25. A composer who earned his/her living as a violin virtuoso was
A. Clara Schumann.
B. Niccolò Paganini.
C. Robert Schumann.
D. Frédéric Chopin.
Answer: B
26. The rise of the urban middle class led to the
A. piano becoming a fixture in every middle-class home.
B. formation of many orchestras and opera groups.
C. development of regular subscription concerts.
D. All answers are correct.
Answer: D
27. When music conservatories were founded, women
A.
B.
were admitted only as vocalists or pianists.
were at first accepted only as students of performance, but by the late 1800s could study
musical composition.
C. could only study musical composition, since performance was considered undignified.
D. were not admitted.
Answer: B
28. A very important musical part of every middle-class home during the romantic period was the
A. resident composer/performer.
B. piano.
C. violin.
D. flute.
Answer: B
29. One of the few composers fortunate enough to be supported by private patrons was
A. Franz Liszt.
B. Franz Schubert.
C. Hector Berlioz.
D. Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky.
Answer: D
30. Music criticism was a source of income for both Hector Berlioz and
A. Robert Schumann.
B. Franz Liszt.
C. Niccolò Paganini.
D. Giuseppe Verdi.
Answer: A
31. An art song is a musical composition for
A. solo voice and piano.
B. solo voice and orchestra.
C. multiple voices.
D. All answers are correct.
Answer: A
32. The word ___________ is commonly used for a romantic art song with a German text.
A. lied
B. durchkomponiert
C. chanson
D. ballade
Answer: A
33. The German composers of art songs favored, among others, the lyric poetry of Johann Wolfgang
von Goethe and
A. Heinrich Heine.
B. Victor Hugo.
C. William Wordsworth.
D. Walt Whitman.
Answer: A
34. Which of the following statements is not true of the romantic art song?
A.
B.
The art song is restricted to strophic or through-composed forms.
A song cycle is a set of romantic art songs that may be unified by a story line that runs
through the poems, or by musical ideas linking the songs.
C. Through-composed, a translation of the German term durchkomponiert, is a song form that
allows music to reflect a poem's changing moods.
D. The accompaniment of a romantic art song is an integral part of the composer's conception,
and it serves as an interpretive partner to the voice.
Answer: A
35. The mood of an art song is often set by a brief piano introduction and summed up at the end by a
piano section called a
A. conclusion.
B. postlude.
C. song cycle.
D. finale.
Answer: B
36. When the same music is repeated for each stanza of a poem, the form is known as
A. song form.
B. strophic.
C. through-composed.
D. repetitious.
Answer: B
37. When a composer writes new music for each stanza of a poem, the form is known as
A. song form.
B. strophic.
C. through-composed.
D. unending.
Answer: C
38. Schubert's primary source of income came from his
A. position as music director to a noble court.
B. touring as a virtuoso performer.
C. performing as church organist.
D. musical compositions.
Answer: D
39. Schubert wrote a number of symphonies and chamber works that are comparable in power and
emotional intensity to those of his idol,
A. Beethoven.
B. Berlioz.
C. Mozart.
D. Haydn.
Answer: A
40. Schubert
A. was widely acknowledged as a composer in his lifetime.
B. was very self-critical, which accounts for his meager output.
C. produced his greatest works after the age of forty.
D. was the first great master of the romantic art song.
Answer: D
41. Which of the following statements is not true?
A.
Franz Schubert led a bohemian existence, living with friends because he had no money to rent
a room of his own.
B. Schubert labored at great length over each of his compositions, which accounts for his small
output.
C. At the time of his death, Schubert's reputation was mainly that of a fine song composer.
D. In addition to symphonies, operas, string quartets and other chamber works, Schubert
composed over six hundred songs.
Answer: B
42. Schubert's songs number more than
A. 50.
B. 100.
C. 250.
D. 600.
Answer: D
43. Schubert wrote compositions in every musical genre except
A. string quartets.
B. piano concertos.
C. symphonies.
D. operas.
Answer: B
44. Schubert was eighteen years old when he composed the song Erlkönig, set to a poem by
A. Schubert himself.
B. Heinrich Heine.
C. Victor Hugo.
D. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.
Answer: D
45. The form of The Erlking is
A. strophic.
B. modified strophic.
C. through-composed.
D. None of these.
Answer: C
46. The Erlking, in Schubert's song of that name, is a romantic personification of
A. ghosts.
B. death.
C. a galloping horse.
D. nature.
Answer: B
47. The piano's relentless rhythm in Erlkönig (The Erlking) unifies the episodes of the song and
suggests the
A. galloping horse.
B. joy of the child.
C. steadiness of the father.
D. approach of death.
Answer: A
48. Which of the following is not typical of Robert Schumann's works?
A. They are intensely autobiographical.
B. They are usually linked with descriptive titles, texts, or programs.
C. They are essentially lyrical in nature.
D. They are all written for the piano.
Answer: D
49. Clara Wieck was
A. the daughter of Schumann's piano teacher.
B. a virtuoso pianist.
C. Schumann's wife.
D. All answers are correct.
Answer: D
50. During the first ten years of his creative life, Schumann published only
A. songs.
B. piano pieces.
C. symphonies.
D. musical criticism.
Answer: B
51. Robert Schumann's Carnaval is a(n)
A. etude for piano students.
B. song cycle.
C. composition for orchestra.
D. cycle of piano pieces.
Answer: D
52. Clara Schumann frequently performed the works of her husband and of her close friend
A. Hector Berlioz.
B. Richard Wagner.
C. Johann Sebastian Bach.
D. Johannes Brahms.
Answer: D
53. Johannes Brahms
A. was an admirer of Robert Schumann, but never met him.
B. was a violinist who performed Clara Schumann's compositions.
C. was a close friend of Clara and Robert Schumann.
D. married Clara Schumann after her husband died.
Answer: C
54. Clara Schumann
A. composed many works for orchestra.
B. stopped composing at the age of thirty-six when her husband died.
C. gave up concertizing when she married.
D. continued to compose music throughout her life.
Answer: B
55. As a composer, Clara Schumann
A. wrote only short lyrical piano pieces.
B. wrote only operas.
C. never performed her own music.
D. wrote songs, piano pieces, a piano concerto, and a trio for piano, violin, and cello.
Answer: D
56. A leading pianist of the nineteenth century, Clara Schumann
A. never composed any music.
B. did some composing, but considered herself primarily a performer.
C. composed many works throughout her long life.
D. performed only the music of her husband Robert.
Answer: B
57. Romanze (romance) in the nineteenth century was often used for a(n)
A. steamy, sexy novel.
B. short, lyrical piece for piano or solo instrument with piano accompaniment.
C. autobiographical song cycle.
D. descriptive programmatic symphony.
Answer: B
58. Clara Wieck Schumann’s “Romance in E minor” op.11, uses the form of
A. AB.
B. ABA.
C. ABC.
D. ABA’Coda.
Answer: D
59. In the 1830s, Paris was
A. a center of romanticism.
B. the artistic capital of Europe.
C. the home of Victor Hugo, Honoré de Balzac, and Heinrich Heine.
D. All answers are correct.
Answer: D
60. Chopin expressed his love of Poland by composing polonaises and
A. polkas.
B. folk songs.
C. waltzes.
D. mazurkas.
Answer: D
61. While in Paris, Chopin
A. married the famous writer Aurore Dudevant.
B. earned a good living by teaching piano to the daughters of the rich.
C. gave a great number of successful public concerts.
D. All answers are correct.
Answer: B
62. Most of Chopin's pieces
A. are exquisite miniatures.
B. are for a wide range of media.
C. have a limited variety of moods.
D. have literary programs or titles.
Answer: A
63. Chopin's output is
A. relatively small.
B. for a wide range of media.
C. inconsistent in quality.
D. enormous.
Answer: A
64. A slow, lyrical, intimate composition for piano, associated with evening and night time, is the
A. etude.
B. mazurka.
C. waltz.
D. nocturne.
Answer: D
65. Chopin's Revolutionary Étude develops the pianist's left hand because
A. the left hand must play rapid passages throughout.
B. it is played only by the left hand.
C. it takes nearly an hour to perform.
D. the left hand plays the main melody.
Answer: A
66. A study piece, designed to help a performer master specific technical difficulties, is known as
A. a nocturne.
B. an etude.
C. a polonaise.
D. ein lied.
Answer: B
67. Which of the following statements is not true?
A.
B.
In the 1830s Paris was a center of romanticism and the artistic capital of Europe.
Chopin was a shy, reserved man who disliked crowds and preferred to play in salons rather
than in public concert halls.
C. Many of Chopin's most poetic effects come from the sensitive exploitation of the piano's
pedals.
D. Chopin's piano études, compositions designed to help a performer master specific technical
difficulties, are primarily technical exercises without much musical value.
Answer: D
68. The ___________ is a dance in triple meter that originated as a stately processional for the Polish
nobility.
A. polka
B. mazurka
C. waltz
D. polonaise
Answer: D
69. Which of the following statements is not true?
A.
To display his incomparable piano mastery, Liszt composed his Transcendental Etudes and
made piano transcriptions of Paganini's violin pieces.
B. During the last years of his life, Liszt settled in Rome and devoted himself solely to his
religious duties.
C. As a stupendous performer, innovative composer, and charismatic personality, Franz Liszt
typified the romantic movement.
D. The literary works of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe were among Franz Liszt's favorite
inspirations.
Answer: B
70. As a youth, Franz Liszt was influenced by the performances of
A. Richard Wagner.
B. Hector Berlioz.
C. Robert Schumann.
D. Niccolò Paganini.
Answer: D
71. During his teens and twenties, Franz Liszt lived in
A. Rome.
B. Weimar.
C. Paris.
D. Budapest.
Answer: C
72. Until the age of thirty-six, Franz Liszt toured Europe as a virtuoso
A. pianist.
B. conductor.
C. cellist.
D. All answers are correct.
Answer: A
73. Liszt abandoned his career as a traveling virtuoso to become court conductor at __________,
where he championed works by contemporary composers.
A. Rome
B. Weimar
C. Paris
D. Budapest
Answer: B
74. Liszt established himself as a conductor and champion of contemporary music in the city of
A. Rome.
B. Weimar.
C. Paris.
D. Budapest.
Answer: B
75. Liszt's piano works are characterized by
A. an unprecedented range of dynamics.
B. rapid octaves and daring leaps.
C. arpeggios.
D. All answers are correct.
Answer: D
76. The writer whose literary works greatly inspired Franz Liszt was
A. William Shakespeare.
B. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.
C. Robert Schumann.
D. Marie d'Agoult.
Answer: B
77. Liszt typified the romantic movement because he
A. had a charismatic personality.
B. was a stupendous performer.
C. was an innovative composer.
D. All answers are correct.
Answer: D
78. Liszt created the ______________, a one-movement orchestral composition based to some extent
on a literary or pictorial idea.
A. concert overture
B. symphonic poem
C. piano concerto
D. sonata
Answer: B
79. By the age of thirteen, Mendelssohn had written ____________ of astounding quality.
A. vocal works.
B. sonatas
C. symphonies and concertos
D. All answers are correct.
Answer: D
80. Mendelssohn is known as the man who rekindled an interest in the music of
A. Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina.
B. Johann Sebastian Bach.
C. George Frideric Handel.
D. Franz Schubert.
Answer: B
81. Mendelssohn earned an international reputation, and rekindled an interest in the earlier composer's
music, by conducting the first performance since the composer's death of
A. Josquin's Ave Maria.
B. Bach's St. Matthew Passion.
C. Handel's Messiah.
D. Schubert's Mass in C.
Answer: B
82. The high point of Mendelssohn's career was the triumphant premiere of his oratorio
_____________ in England.
A. Elijah
B. Hebrides
C. A Midsummer Night's Dream
D. Fingal's Cave
Answer: A
83. Mendelssohn wrote in all musical forms except
A. symphonies.
B. operas.
C. string quartets.
D. oratorios.
Answer: B
84. The three movements of Mendelssohn's Concerto for Violin
A. are unified by the process of thematic transformation.
B. are all in the same key.
C. all have separate cadenzas.
D. are played without pause.
Answer: D
85. Mendelssohn's Concerto for Violin in E Minor opens with a(n)
A. orchestral exposition typical in concertos.
B. soloist, who presents the main theme.
C. slow introduction by the orchestra.
D. single bassoon tone.
Answer: B
86. The opening of Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in E minor is unusual in that
A. there is a trumpet fanfare introduction.
B. the main theme is presented by the soloist.
C. there is a slow introduction by the orchestra.
D. the orchestra presents the main theme without the soloist.
Answer: B
87. In the first movement of Mendelssohn's Concerto for Violin, the cadenza
A. is left to the performer to improvise.
B. appears at the end of the recapitulation, as is common in classical concertos.
C. is frequently omitted in performance.
D. appears at the end of the development section as a transition to the recapitulation.
Answer: D
88. The first movement of Mendelssohn's Concerto for Violin is linked to the introduction of the
second movement by a(n)
A. violin cadenza.
B. single bassoon tone.
C. orchestral tutti.
D. wind fanfare.
Answer: B
89.
The second movement of Mendelssohn's Concerto for Violin is in _____ form.
A. ABA'
B. theme and variations
C. rondo
D. sonata
Answer: A
90. Instrumental music associated with a story, poem, idea, or scene, popular during the romantic
period, is called
A. absolute music.
B. opera.
C. program music.
D. symphony.
Answer: C
91. The work referred to by Beethoven as an "expression of feeling rather than painting" was his
A. Symphony No. 5.
B. Fidelio Overture.
C. Eroica Symphony.
D. Symphony No. 6.
Answer: D
92. Which of the following statements is not true?
A.
Musicians and audiences in the romantic period liked to read stories into all music, whether
intended by the composer or not.
B. The romantic concert overture was modeled after the opera overture, but the concert overture
is not intended to usher in a stage work, being instead an independent composition.
C. The symphonic poem, or tone poem, is a one-movement composition in sonata-allegro form.
D. While music alone makes no definite reference to ideas, emotions, or objects, it can create
moods, emotions, and atmosphere.
Answer: C
93. Non-program music is also known as _____________ music.
A. pure
B. absolute
C. concert
D. symphonic
Answer: B
94. Absolute music is also known as
A. program music.
B. non-program music.
C. concert music.
D. chamber music.
Answer: B
95. A ____________ is an instrumental composition in several movements based to some extent on a
literary or pictorial idea.
A. nocturne
B. program symphony
C. polonaise
D. concert overture
Answer: B
96. A ________________ is a one-movement orchestral composition based to some extent on a
literary or pictorial idea.
A. mazurka
B. program symphony
C. symphonic poem
D. nocturne
Answer: C
97. The composer who developed the symphonic poem was
A. Franz Liszt.
B. Ludwig van Beethoven.
C. Franz Schubert.
D. Richard Strauss.
Answer: A
98. Music intended to be performed before and during a play to set the mood for scenes or highlight
dramatic action is known as
A. music drama.
B. incidental music.
C. absolute music.
D. play music.
Answer: B
99. Today's movie scores may be regarded as examples of
A. pure music.
B. incidental music.
C. folk music.
D. absolute music.
Answer: B
100. In 1830 the Paris Conservatory awarded Berlioz
A. a graduate fellowship.
B. a scholarship.
C. a position on the faculty.
D. the Prix de Rome.
Answer: D
101. The writer whose works had the greatest impact on the young Berlioz was
A. Victor Hugo.
B. William Shakespeare.
C. Honoré de Balzac.
D. Heinrich Heine.
Answer: B
102. The Fantastic Symphony reflects Berlioz's
A. intense nationalism.
B. experiences in Rome.
C. love for the actress Harriet Smithson.
D. interest in composing for small, intimate ensembles.
Answer: C
103. Parisians were startled by Berlioz's Fantastic Symphony because of its
A. sensationally autobiographical program.
B. amazingly novel orchestration.
C. vivid description of the weird and diabolical.
D. All answers are correct.
Answer: D
104. Which of the following statements is not true?
A.
B.
Berlioz was an extraordinarily imaginative and innovative orchestrator.
All of Berlioz's major works are dramatic in nature and relate either to a literary program or to
a text.
C. In 1830 Berlioz won the Paris Conservatory's Prix de Rome which granted him two years'
subsidized study in Rome.
D. Berlioz's reputation outside France was even lower than it was in his homeland.
Answer: D
105. In order to support his family, Berlioz turned to
A. medicine.
B. musical journalism.
C. arranging concerts.
D. teaching.
Answer: B
106. Outside France, Berlioz enjoyed a great career as a(n)
A. conductor.
B. concert pianist.
C. singer.
D. impresario.
Answer: A
107. As one of the first great ____________, Berlioz influenced a whole generation of musicians.
A. orchestral conductors
B. composition teachers
C. impresarios
D. guitarists
Answer: A
108. Berlioz was extraordinarily imaginative in treating the orchestra, creating ____________ never
before heard.
A. tone colors
B. rhythms
C. harmonies
D. forms
Answer: A
109. Which of the following is not an opera by Berlioz?
A. Benvenuto Cellini
B. Beatrice and Benedict
C. The Trojans
D. Otello
Answer: D
110. The contrasting episodes of Berlioz's Fantastic Symphony are unified by the recurrence of a theme
known as the
A. subject.
B. Smithson theme.
C. leitmotif.
D. idée fixe.
Answer: D
111. The second movement of Berlioz's Fantastic Symphony is a ______________, the most popular
dance of the romantic era.
A. waltz
B. minuet
C. country dance
D. gavotte
Answer: A
112. The fourth movement of Berlioz's Fantastic Symphony depicts a
A. march to the scaffold.
B. ball.
C. dream of a witches' Sabbath.
D. scene in the country.
Answer: A
113. The citizen's sense of national identify and patriotic feelings were intensified by
A. romanticism, which glorified love for one's national heritage.
B. common bonds of language, culture, and history.
C. military resistance to Napoleon.
D. All answers are correct.
Answer: D
114. Which of the following statements is not true?
A.
During the nineteenth century, Europeans felt strongly that their homelands merited loyalty
and self-sacrifice.
B. In the romantic era, it was felt that the "national spirit" of a people resided in the "folk," the
peasantry.
C. The Italian opera composer Giuseppe Verdi deliberately chose librettos that fanned public
hatred for Austrian overlords.
D. The strongest impact of musical nationalism was felt in Italy, France, Germany, and Austria.
Answer: D
115. The strongest impact of musical nationalism was felt in
A. Russia.
B. the Scandinavian countries.
C. Poland and Bohemia.
D. All answers are correct.
Answer: D
116. Which of the following countries did not produce important composers whose music had a national
flavor?
A. Norway
B. Portugal
C. Russia
D. Bohemia
Answer: B
117. The "father of Russian music" is
A. Mily Balakirev.
B. Modest Mussorgsky.
C. Mikhail Glinka.
D. Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov.
Answer: C
118. The opera that laid the groundwork for a Russian national style, A Life for the Tsar, was composed
by
A. Modest Mussorgsky.
B. César Cui.
C. Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov.
D. Mikhail Glinka.
Answer: D
119. Bedřich Smetana
A. was the founder of Czech national music.
B. was a leading composer of symphonies.
C. served as a member of the Austrian provincial government.
D. All answers are correct.
Answer: A
120. The founder of Czech national music was
A. César Cui.
B. Antonin Dvořák.
C. Bedřich Smetana.
D. Boris Godunov.
Answer: C
121. Smetana grew up when Bohemia was under ____________ domination.
A. German
B. Austrian
C. Polish
D. Russian
Answer: B
122. Even though Smetana was deaf at the time, he composed a musical work depicting Bohemia's main
river as it flows through the countryside. The name of the river, and the musical composition, is
the
A. Moldau.
B. Seine.
C. Danube.
D. Thames.
Answer: A
123. The German master _____________ recommended Dvořák's music to his own publisher, resulting
in a rapid spread of Dvořák's fame.
A. Joseph Haydn
B. Richard Wagner
C. Franz Liszt
D. Johannes Brahms
Answer: D
124. Antonin Dvořák's music was first promoted by
A. Hector Berlioz.
B. Richard Wagner.
C. Johannes Brahms.
D. Franz Liszt.
Answer: C
125. Dvořák "found a secure basis for a new national [American] musical school" in
A. the music of New York.
B. African American spirituals.
C. western art music as taught at the National Conservatory of Music.
D. the traditional folk music of European immigrants.
Answer: B
126. In 1892, Dvořák went to ___________, where he spent almost three years as director of the
National Conservatory of Music.
A. London
B. Prague
C. New York
D. Leipzig
Answer: C
127. Antonin Dvořák's Symphony No. 9
A. is his most famous work.
B. is subtitled From the New World.
C. glorifies both the Czech and the American folk spirit.
D. All answers are correct.
Answer: D
128. In the first movement of the New World Symphony, Dvořák
A. used the form of the scherzo.
B. quoted the black spiritual Swing Low, Sweet Chariot.
C. composed a theme that resembles Swing Low, Sweet Chariot.
D. began the symphony with an allegro first theme.
Answer: C
129. The popular character of the New World Symphony can be traced to the composer's use of
___________ often found in folk music.
A. syncopations
B. pentatonic scales
C. modal scales
D. all of these
Answer: D
130. Which of the following statements is not true?
A.
Tchaikovsky's progress in music was so rapid that after graduating from the St. Petersburg
Conservatory he became professor of harmony at the new Moscow Conservatory.
B. Tchaikovsky was a happily-married family man with a cheerful self-confident outlook.
C. Tchaikovsky, while not a member of the "Russian five," considered himself as Russian in the
fullest sense of the word.
D. Tchaikovsky, with elements of French, Italian, and German music as well as Russian folk
songs, fused national and international elements to produce intensely subjective and
passionate music.
Answer: B
131. Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
A. was a child prodigy, learning music at an early age.
B. preferred his government position to music.
C. studied music theory and violin as a teenager.
D. began to study music theory at the age of twenty-one.
Answer: D
132. Nadezhda von Meck was
A. one of Tchaikovsky's lovers.
B. a wealthy benefactress who provided Tchaikovsky with an annuity.
C. Tchaikovsky's wife.
D. the inspiration for his Romeo and Juliet.
Answer: B
133. Tchaikovsky's Sixth Symphony
A. is in the usual four-movement form.
B. was left unfinished by the composer.
C. has five movements.
D. ends with a slow, despairing finale.
Answer: D
134. Which of the following was not composed by Tchaikovsky?
A. Romeo and Juliet
B. Pictures at an Exhibition
C. Swan Lake
D. Symphony No. 6 (Pathétique)
Answer: B
135. Which of the following is not a ballet by Tchaikovsky?
A. Swan Lake
B. The Sleeping Beauty
C. The Nutcracker
D. Coppelia
Answer: D
136. At its premiere in 1870, Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet Overture was
A. a tremendous success.
B. a dismal failure.
C. performed by a large orchestra, with chorus and cannon.
D. enthusiastically applauded by the tsar.
Answer: B
137. Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet is
A. a ballet based on Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet.
B. a medley of popular melodies taken from his opera of that name.
C. an early programmatic symphony inspired by the characters in Shakespeare's play.
D. a concert overture consisting of a slow introduction and a fast movement in sonata form.
Answer: D
138. The course of Brahms's artistic and personal life was shaped by the influence of the composer
A. Antonin Dvořák.
B. Robert Schumann and his wife Clara.
C. Franz Liszt.
D. Richard Wagner.
Answer: B
139. In comparison to some earlier composers, Brahms's musical output may be considered small. This
is explained in part by the fact that Brahms
A. was too busy conducting and performing to find time to compose.
B. was insecure and lazy, unable to concentrate on composing.
C. was extremely critical of his own work, and endlessly revised his compositions.
D. died before he had a chance to realize himself fully.
Answer: C
140. Brahms wrote masterpieces in many musical forms, but never any
A. art songs.
B. operas.
C. choral works.
D. chamber music.
Answer: B
141. Brahms's works, though very personal in style, are rooted in the music of
A. Joseph Haydn.
B. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
C. Ludwig van Beethoven.
D. All answers are correct.
Answer: D
142. Brahms's musical trademarks included
A. bombastic flamboyance.
B. the use of two notes against three.
C. the use of da capo arias.
D. All answers are correct.
Answer: B
143. Verdi studied music in _________, the city where Italy's most important opera house, La Scala, is
located.
A. Rome
B. Florence
C. Venice
D. Milan
Answer: D
144. Verdi's first great success, an opera with strong political overtones, was
A. Oberto.
B. Aïda.
C. Nabucco.
D. La Traviata.
Answer: C
145. Critics were often scandalized by the subject matter of Verdi's operas because they
A. symbolized a free and unified Italy.
B. commemorated the Suez canal, which was not even in Europe.
C. were based on Shakespearean plays.
D. seemed to condone rape, suicide, and free love.
Answer: D
146. Verdi's great comic masterpiece, written when he was seventy-nine, is
A. Il Trovatore.
B. Otello.
C. Falstaff.
D. Aïda.
Answer: C
147. Which of the following operas is not by Verdi?
A. La Traviata
B. Cavalleria rusticana
C. Il Trovatore
D. Otello
Answer: B
148. Giuseppe Verdi mainly composed his operas
A. for the Italian musical elite.
B. to glorify the singers.
C. to promote Italian unification.
D. to entertain a mass public.
Answer: D
149. Which of the following statements is not true?
A.
Giuseppe Verdi, the most popular of all opera composers, was born to a poor family in a tiny
Italian village.
B. The soul of a Verdi opera is its expressive vocal melody.
C. Verdi composed primarily for the Italian musical elite, those who would best appreciate his
talents.
D. In the course of his long life, Verdi's style became less conventional, more subtle and flexible,
with more imaginative orchestrations and richer accompaniments.
Answer: C
150. The soul of a Verdi opera is
A. extensive thematic development.
B. expressive vocal melody.
C. the situation comedy.
D. atmospheric orchestral parts.
Answer: B
151. Verdi's later operas differ from his earlier ones in that they have
A. less difference between aria and recitative.
B. greater musical continuity.
C. more imaginative orchestrations.
D. All answers are correct.
Answer: D
152. Rigoletto, the title role in Giuseppe Verdi's opera, is all of the following except
A. a hunchback.
B. a court jester to the Duke of Mantua.
C. the father of Gilda.
D. the romantic lover.
Answer: D
153. The famous aria La donna è mobile is taken from Verdi's opera
A. Rigoletto.
B. Aïda.
C. Falstaff.
D. Il Trovatore.
Answer: A
154. Giacomo Puccini's first successful opera was
A. Madame Butterfly.
B. La Bohème.
C. Manon Lescaut.
D. Turandot.
Answer: C
155. Which of the following operas was not composed by Giacomo Puccini?
A. Madame Butterfly
B. Tosca
C. Turandot
D. I Pagliacci
Answer: D
156. An artistic trend of the 1890s, in which operas dealt with ordinary people and true-to-life
situations, was known as
A. opera seria.
B. verismo.
C. exoticism.
D. Cavalleria rusticana.
Answer: B
157. The movement in opera known as verismo is best exemplified by
A. Claudio Monteverdi.
B. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
C. Giacomo Puccini.
D. Richard Wagner.
Answer: C
158. Some of Puccini's operas feature exoticism, as in his use of melodic and rhythmic elements derived
from Japanese and Chinese music in his operas
A. Turandot and Manon Lescaut.
B. La Bohème and Madame Butterfly.
C. Madame Butterfly and Turandot.
D. Tosca and Turandot.
Answer: C
159. Giacomo Puccini's opera La Bohème takes place in
A. Seville.
B. Milan.
C. Rome.
D. Paris.
Answer: D
160. In Puccini's La Bohème, Rodolfo is a young
A. painter.
B. poet.
C. philosopher.
D. musician.
Answer: B
161. Mimi and Rodolfo meet for the first time in La Bohème because she has come to his door to ask for
a
A. light for her candle.
B. drink of wine.
C. dinner date.
D. cup of sugar.
Answer: A
162. Who sings the aria Che gelida manina (What a cold little hand) in La Bohème?
A. Mimi
B. Schaunard
C. Rodolfo
D. Marcello
Answer: C
163. Wagner's preeminence was such that an opera house of his own design was built in
_________________, solely for performances of his music dramas.
A. Paris, France
B. Geneva, Switzerland
C. Leipzig, Germany
D. Bayreuth, Bavaria
Answer: D
164. Wagner had an opera house built to his own specifications in
A. Munich.
B. Weimar.
C. Dresden.
D. Bayreuth.
Answer: D
165. The composer who had an overwhelming influence on the young Wagner was
A. Johann Sebastian Bach.
B. Ludwig van Beethoven.
C. Johannes Brahms.
D. Hector Berlioz.
Answer: B
166. When he was fifteen, Wagner was overwhelmed by the power of the music of
A. Franz Liszt.
B. Ludwig van Beethoven.
C. Robert Schumann.
D. Giuseppe Verdi.
Answer: B
167. Wagner was appointed conductor of the Dresden opera mainly because of the success of his first
opera
A. The Ring of the Nibelung.
B. Die Götterdämmerung.
C. Parsifal.
D. Rienzi.
Answer: D
168. Richard Wagner's first successful opera was
A. Tannhäuser.
B. Rienzi.
C. The Twilight of the Gods.
D. Die Walküre.
Answer: B
169. Which of the following operas was not composed by Richard Wagner?
A. Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
B. Tristan and Isolde
C. Fidelio
D. Parsifal
Answer: C
170. The librettos to The Ring of the Nibelung were written by
A. Arrigo Boito.
B. Wagner himself.
C. King Ludwig of Bavaria.
D. Hans von Bülow.
Answer: B
171. Richard Wagner's last opera was
A. Die Götterdämmerung.
B. Tannhäuser.
C. Rienzi.
D. Parsifal.
Answer: D
172. A short musical idea associated with a person, object, or thought, used by Richard Wagner in his
operas, is called
A. leitmotif.
B. lied.
C. unending melody.
D. speech-song.
Answer: A
173. Richard Wagner spins an orchestral web out of recurrent musical themes called
A. Sprechstimme.
B. leitmotifs.
C. speech-songs.
D. melodies.
Answer: B
174. Valhalla, in Wagner's Ring cycle, is
A. a city in New York State.
B. Wotan's castle.
C. the home of Siegfried.
D. the magic ring.
Answer: B
175. Siegmund, in Wagner's opera Die Walküre, is
A. Sieglinde's brother, then wife.
B. Wotan's son by a mortal woman.
C. Siegfried's father.
D. All answers are correct.
Answer: D
176. At the end of the first act of Wagner's opera Die Walküre,
A. Sieglinde recognizes the stranger as her brother and renames him Siegmund.
B. Siegmund draws the magical sword Nothung from the tree.
C. Siegmund embraces Sieglinde with passionate fervor.
D. All answers are correct.
Answer: D