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1. What is a symphony?
A work for solo instrument, usually consisting of three or four movements
A large-scale composition for full orchestra
A religious composition for choir and orchestra
An ancient Egyptian instrument

2. The symphony developed alongside the concerto, but originated from:
medieval plainchant
the French dance suite
the oratorio
the Baroque sinfonia

3. The most common order of movements in a Classical or Romantic symphony is:
1st - sonata form, 2nd - slow and expressive, 3rd - minuet and trio or scherzo, 4th - rondo
1st - slow and expressive, 2nd funeral march, 3rd - serious finale
1st - sonata form, 2nd - minuet and trio, 3rd - scherzo, 4th - finale
1st - largo, adagio, allegro, prestissimo

4. A well-known exception of the typical order is:
Beethoven's 3rd symphony
Mozart's Jupiter symphony
Tchaikovsky's Pathetique symphony
Handel's Messiah

5. The movements of a symphony make it similar to:
a nocturne
a suite
rock
variations

6. What is considered to be the most important structure in classical music that developed from the Baroque binary and ternary forms?
fugal style
fantasia
twelve-tone technique
sonata form

7. Who has been dubbed the 'Father of the Symphony'?
Johannes Brahms
Felix Mendelssohn
Joseph Haydn
Jean Sibelius

8. The exposition of a sonata-form movement:
is an introductory passage before the main argument begins
is where the composer first states the musical ideas that he is going to use in the movement
concludes the movement
is where the subjects return in the home key

9. The development section of a sonata-form movement:
is a restatement of the principal subject
establishes the key of the movement
concudes the movement
is a 'free fantasia' on themes established in the exposition

10. This particular symphony was inspired by the Irish actress Harriet Smithson:
Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique
Beethoven's Eroica symphony
Elgar's Second Symphony
Shostakovich's 10th symphony

11. Beethoven's Eroica is said to have marked a turning point in symphonic writing. This is due to:
its use of twelve-tone technique
its structural and harmonic complexities
its use of triple woodwind
the inclusion of a fifth movement

12. Beethoven dedicated the Eroica to "the memory of a great man", this man being:
J.S. Bach
Goethe
Franz Schubert
Napoleon

13. It is said that the last movement in Tchaikovsky's Pathetique symphony was a farewell to life. The reason for Tchaikovsky's despair at this time was that he:
was tried by an illegal court and sentenced to death
suffered from melancolia
was 'forced' to marry Antonina Milyukova, who he didn't even love
became disabled after falling off a horse

14. This section of the symphony orchestra accounts for more than half of the total players:
brass
woodwind
strings
percussion

15. An example of an instrumental 'family' is:
cellos
horns
clarinets
percussion

16. Which composer wrote the song-cycle 'Kindertotenlieder' (Children's Death Songs)?
Arnold Schoenberg
C.P.E. Bach
Gustav Mahler
Hector Berlioz

17. The above composer did not complete his 10th symphony, but because he left extensive sketches and formal outlines for the work, it was completed in 1960 by:
Pierre Boulez
Deryck Cooke
Gilbert Kaplan
Dmitri Shostakovich

18. Most of the great symphonies emerged from this particular region:
Germany and Austria
Eastern Europe
Britain
France

19. Anton Dvorak's use of American folk-tunes is most prominent in his Symphony No.:
1 - 'The Bells of Zlonice'
3
5
9 - 'From the New World'

20. The above symphony was composed in the year:
1878
1882
1893
1897

21. Though Cesar Franck was born in Belgium, his musical style is typical of the:
French
Italians
Hungarian
American

22. The famous 'Unfinished' symphony in B minor was composed by:
Robert Schumann
Franz Schubert
Felix Mendelssohn
Camille Saint-Saens

23. The Fourth movement of Schumann's Third Symphony, the 'Rhenish' was inspired by:
the Royal Botanic Gardens in London
a French soprano
a Cologne cathedral
the writings of Shakespeare

24. This composer wrote the 'Scottish' and 'Italian' symphonies:
Felix Mendelssohn
W.A. Mozart
Ralph Vaughan-Williams
Sergei Prokofiev

25. Berlioz's symphony for viola and orchestra, composed for Paganini, was entitled:
Romeo and Juliet
Faust
Harold in Italy
Symphonie Fantastique

26. The music of Saint-Saens is characterised by elegance, wit and style, though the composer widely critisised the use of:
fugal style
excessive emotional expression
sonata form
twelve-tone technique

27. A D minor symphony that attracted harsh criticism for its continuous modulation and chromaticism, was composed by:
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Anton Dvorak
Johannes Brahms
Cesar Franck

28. Edward Elgar dedicated his Symphony No. 2 in E flat to:
his late wife
Hans Richter
Tchaikovsky
King Edward VII

29. Vaughan Williams' shocked critics in 1935 with his most 'absolute' and intellectual symphony to date - his:
Fourth
Second, 'London'
Third, 'Pastoral'
Seventh, 'Sinfonia Antarctica'

30. Tchaikovsky makes use of folk tunes in his:
'Winter Dreams' Symphony
'Manfred' Symphony
'The Little Russian' Symphony
'Pathetique' Symphony

31. Dvorak's 3rd symphony won this particular award:
Czechoslovakian Young Composers Award
The Austrian State Stipendium
The Grand Prix d'Honneur
The Societe Nationale de Musique Award

32. Mahler wrote a massive 'song symphony' called:
Das Lied van der Erde (Song of the Earth)
Das Knaben Wunderhorn (The Boy's Magic Horn)
Choral symphony
Titan symphony

33. Who composed a 'Symphony No. 0 in D Minor', known as 'Die Nullte'?
Haydn
Schumann
Bruckner
Mahler

34. Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique is known as a 'programmatic work'. This means that:
it is commonly seen in a concert program
its movements are of the same form and structure
it was completed by someone after the composer died
the movements musically describe specific locations, persons, feelings etc

35. Berlioz, Mendelssohn, Schumann and Brahms all lived in which period?
renaissance
classical
romantic
20th century

36. A 'symphonic poem' is:
a small symphony, usually consisting of two movements
similar to fugal style
a symphony for narrator and orchestra
an orchestral work portraying a story or image

37. Bruckner's Symphony No. 7, Franck's D minor symphony, Brahms' Symphony No. 4 and Dvorak's Symphony From the New World were all composed between the years:
1750 - 1799
1800 - 1849
1850 - 1899
1900 - 1950

38. Mozart's 'Jupiter Symphony' is a masterly composition in that it:
cleverly combines sonata form and fugue
was composed in only five days
exceeds the length of any other symphony
introduced new forms and styles

39. The famous 'Ode to Joy' is heard in:
Schumann's 'Rhenish' Symphony
Beethoven's 'Choral' Symphony
Saint-Saens' 'Organ Symphony'
Haydn's 'Le Matin' Symphony

40. The compositional device in which a theme, or group of themes, returns in each movement, thus uniting the piece into a cohesive whole, is known as:
counterpoint
cyclical form
tonality
chromaticism

41. Whose 4th Symphony utilises cyclical form?
W.A. Mozart
Ludwig van Beethoven
Antonin Dvorak
Robert Schumann

42. Which composer was a devout Catholic, whose symphonies describe a deep love for God and nature?
Ludwig van Beethoven
Jean Sibelius
Anton Bruckner
Dmitri Shostakovich

43. A group, consisting of Rimsky-Korsakov, Borodin, Mussorgsky, Cui, and Balakirev, who befriended Tchaikovsky and whose Russian orchestral style greatly influenced his symphonies, was nicknamed:
the 'Russian Five'
the 'Mighty Five'
the 'Famous Five'
the 'Blessed Five'