20th-Century Classical Music quiz

More questions about 20th-Century Classical Music

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1. 1 Easy

   What Stravinsky ballet caused a near-riot at its premiere?

   Answer: The Rite of Spring

   Why: The ballet opens with a solo bassoon playing so high that the instrument is almost impossible to recognize.

2. 2 Medium

   Who did Rachmaninoff dedicate his Second Piano Concerto to?

   Answer: His doctor

   Why: The doctor was Nikolai Dahl, a neurologist specializing in hypnosis, who treated Rachmaninoff daily and free of charge.

3. 3 Hard

   What does Ligeti's Poème symphonique use 100 of?

   Answer: metronomes

   Why: All 100 metronomes are wound up and set to different speeds, and the piece ends as the last one ticks on alone.

4. 4 Easy

   Which Kubrick film first used György Ligeti's music?

   Answer: 2001: A Space Odyssey

   Why: The Kyrie of Ligeti's Requiem, a dense wall of choir voices, plays as the black monolith meets the apes and again on the Moon.

5. 5 Medium

   Which instrument plays the duck in Peter and the Wolf?

   Answer: oboe

   Why: The cat is a clarinet, the bird a flute, the grandfather a bassoon and the wolf three French horns, so each character has its own sound.

6. 6 Hard

   How many short phrases make up Terry Riley's In C?

   Answer: 53

   Why: Each player chooses how many times to repeat each phrase before moving on, so the players move through the piece at different speeds.