The 20th Century Music (7th Quiz)

In music, the early twentieth century was a time of a. revolt and change b. the continuation of old forms c. stagnation d. disinterest

Composers in the twentieth century drew inspiration from a. folk and popular music from all cultures b. the music of Asia and Africa c. European art music from the Middle Ages through the nineteenth century d. all of the above

The most famous riot in music history occurred in Paris in 1913 at the first performance of a. Arnold Schoenberg's "Gurrelieder" b. Igor Stravinsky's "The Rite of Spring" c. Richard Wagner's "Siegfried" d. Igor Stravinsky's "Les Noces"

The technique of using two or more tonal centers at the same time is called a. expanded tonality b. polytonality c. atonality d. twelve-tone

Claude Debussy's most famous orchestral work was inspired by a poem by a. Stephane Mallarme b. Paul Verlaine c. Jean-Paul Sartre d. Arthur Rimbaud

Which of the following characteristics is NOT usually associated with impressionism? a. fleeting mood b. clearly delineated forms c. misty atmosphere d. symbolism

A five-tone scale, such as that produced by the five black keys of the piano in succession, is called a_____________________scale. a. pentatonic b. octatonic c. whole-tone d. Gypsy

Which of the following techniques did Debussy NOT use to weaken the grip of major-minor tonality? a. pentatonic scale b. twelve-tone technique c. whole-tone scale d. medieval church modes

The faun evoked in Debussy's famous composition is a a. baby deer b. creature who is half man, half goat c. beautiful young maiden d. sensitive musician

The twentieth-century artistic movement that stressed intense, subjective emotion was called a. impressionism b. primitivism c. expressionism d. neoclassicism

Using all twelve tones without regard to their traditional relation to major or minor scales, avoiding traditional chord progressions, is known as a. polytonality b. bitonality c. freetonality d. atonality

The first significant atonal pieces were composed around 1908 by a. Igor Stravinsky b. Claude Debussy c. Arnold Schoenberg d. Aaron Copland

The use of two or more contrasting and independent rhythms at the same time is known as a. polyrhythm b. jazz c. polytonality d. ostinato

Expressionism stressed a. subtle feeling b. intense subjective emotion c. reticence d. surface beauty

In addition to being a composer, Schoenberg showed skill as a a. chemist b. painter c. music critic d. economist

Alban Berg and Anton Webern were Schoenberg's a. teachers b. students c. predecessors d. jealous rivals

Schoenberg developed an unusual style of vocal performance, halfway between speaking and singing, called a. Klangfarbenmelodie b. Sprechstimme c. atonality d. serialism

An eerily expressive kind of declamation midway between song and speech, introduced during the expressionist period, is a. Pierrot Lunaire b. stile rappresentativo c. a capella d. Sprechstimme

"A Survivor from Warsaw" used three languages: English, German, and a. Italian b. French c. Hebrew d. Russian

The prepared piano, a grand piano whose sound is altered by objects such as bolts, screws, rubber bands, paper, and plastic inserted between the strings of some of the keys, was invented by a. Arnold Schoenberg b. John Cage c. Bela Bartok d. Richard Wagner

John Cage's best known work for prepared piano, and one of his most widely performed works, is a. "Sonatas and Interludes" b."4'33" " c. "Imaginary Landscape No. 4" for 12 radios d. "Daughters of the Lonesome Isle"

In chance or aleatoric music, the composer a. takes a chance on which performers will perform the work b. chooses pitches, tone colors, and rhythms by random methods c. writes a rhythmic pattern but leaves it to the performer to determine the actual pitches d. writes the music in a traditional manner, but allows the recording engineer to make changes

Edgard Varese's "Electronic Poem" was designed for the 1958 Brussels World Fair was one of the earliest masterpieces of electronic music created in a tape studio was composed in collaboration with the famous architect Le Corbusier all of the above

Which of the following statements is not true? a. Twentieth-century musical expressionism grows out of the emotional turbulence in the works of late romantics like Wagner, Richard Strauss, and Gustav Mahler. b. Expressionist artists favored pleasant subjects, delicate pastel colors, and shimmering surfaces. c. A stress on harsh dissonance, an exploitation of extreme registers, fragmentation, and d. Expressionist painters reacted against French impressionism; they often used jarring colors and grotesquely distorted shapes to explore the subconscious.

Which of the following statements is not true? a. Because of the hostility of the conservative Viennese public, Schoenberg abandoned musical composition in 1908 and turned instead to painting. b. In Schoenberg's atonal music from 1908 to 1914, all twelve tones are used without regard for their traditional relationship to major and minor scales. c. Schoenberg developed a more systematic method of organizing atonal music in the early 1920s, a system he called the "method of composing with twelve tones." d. Schoenberg's Pierrot lunaire is a cycle of 21 songs for female voice and five musicians playing eight instruments.

Debussy: "Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun"

Schoenberg: "Moonstruck Pierrot"

Schoenberg: "A Survivor from Warsaw"

Cage: Sonatas and Interludes

Varese: Electronic Poem

Timeline