arts and culture

Question 1

the Proms

Answer 1

eight-week summer season of orchestral classical music in various venues (including the Royal Albert Hall)

organised by the BBC since 1927

last night of the proms is the most well-known concert broadcast on TV

Question 2

Henry Purcell

Answer 2

organist at Westminster Abbey

wrote church music, operas and other pieces, developed a British style distinct from that elsewhere in Europe

Question 3

George Frederick Handel

Answer 3

spent many years in the UK and became a British citizen in 1727

wrote water music for King George I and music for the royal fireworks for George II

also wrote Messiah which is sung by choirs, often at easter

Question 4

Gustav Holst

Answer 4

the planets, a suite of pieces themed around the planets of the solar system

adapted jupiter, part of the planets suite, as the tune for i vow to thee my country, a popular hym in british churches

Question 5

Sir Edward Elgar

Answer 5

born in worcester

best known work is the pomp and circumstance marches
- march no 1 (land of hope and glory) is usually played at the last night of the proms at the royal albert hall

Question 6

Ralph Vaughan Williams

Answer 6

wrote music for orchestras and choirs

strongly influenced by traditional English folk music

Question 7

Sir William Walton

Answer 7

wide range of music, from film scores to opera

wrote marches for the coronations of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth II

best known works are probably facade, which became a ballet, and balthazar’s feast, which is meant to be sung by a large choir

Question 8

Benjamin Britten

Answer 8

best known for his operas, which include peter grimes and billy budd

also wrote a young person’s guide to the orchestra, based on a piece of music by purcell

founded the Aldeburgh festival in Suffolk

Question 9

famous festivals

Answer 9

Glastonbury, the Isle of Wight Festival and the V Festival

Question 10

National Eisteddfod of Wales

Answer 10

annual cultural festival which includes music, dance, art and original performances largely in Welsh

Question 11

Mercury Music Prize

Answer 11

awarded each September for the best album from the UK and Ireland

Question 12

Brit Awards

Answer 12

annual event that gives awards in a range of categories

Question 13

theatreland

Answer 13

London’s West End

Question 14

longest initial run of any show in history

Answer 14

the mousetrap by Dame Agatha Christie

Question 15

strong tradition of musical theatre

Answer 15

in the 19th century, Gilbert and Sullivan wrote comic operas, making fun of popular culture and politics
- HMS Pinafore, the Pirates of Penzance and the Mikado

Question 16

Edinburgh Festival

Answer 16

takes place every summer in Edinburgh

series of different arts and cultural festivals
- biggest and most well known is the Edinburgh Festival Fringe (showcase of mainly theatre and comedy performances or experimental work)

Question 17

Laurence Olivier Awards

Answer 17

annually at different venues in London

named after British Actor Sir Laurence Olivier, later Lord Olivier

Question 18

well known galleries

Answer 18

London: National Gallery, Tate Britain, Tate Modern

Cardiff: National Museum

Edinburgh: National Gallery of Scotland

Question 19

Turner Prize

Answer 19

established in 1984, celebrates contemporary art

four works shortlisted every year and shown at the Tate Britain before the winner is announced

recognised as one of the most prestigious visual art awards in Europe

previous winners: Damien Hirst, Richard Wright

Question 20

Thomas Gainsborough

Answer 20

portrait painter painting people in country or garden scenery

Question 21

David Allan

Answer 21

Scottish painter known for painting portraits

one of his most famous works is called the origin of painting

Question 22

Joseph Turner

Answer 22

influential landscape painter in a modern style

artist who raised the profile of landscape painting

Question 23

John Constable

Answer 23

landscape painter most famous for his works of Dedham Vale on the Suffolk-Essex border in the east of England

Question 24

pre-raphaelites

Answer 24

important group of artists in the second half of the 19th century

detailed pictures on religious or literary themes in bright colours

holman hunt, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Sir John Millais

Question 25

Sir John Lavery

Answer 25

successful Northern Irish portrait painter painted the Royal Family

Question 26

Henry Moore

Answer 26

English sculptor and artist best known for large bronze abstract sculptures

Question 27

John Petts

Answer 27

Welsh artists, best known for his engravings and stained glass

Question 28

Lucian Freud

Answer 28

German-born British artist best known for his portraits

Question 29

David Hockney

Answer 29

important contributor to the pop art movement of the 60s

Question 30

cathedrals from the middle ages

Answer 30

in Durham, Lincoln, Canterbury and Salisbury

Question 31

norman castle keep

Answer 31

white tower in the tower of london

Question 32

architecture in the 17th century

Answer 32

Inigo Jones took inspiration from classical architecture to design the Queen's House at Greenwich and the Banqueting House in Whitehall in London later, Sir Christopher Wren helped develop a British version of the ornate styles popular in Europe in buildings like the new St Paul's Cathedrawl

Question 33

architecture in the 18th century

Answer 33

simple designs became popular Scottish architect Robert Adam influenced architecture in the UK, Europe and America - designed inside decoration as well as the building in great houses like Dumfries House in Scotland - ideas influenced architects in cities such as bath, where the Royal Crescent was built

Question 34

architecture in the 19th century

Answer 34

gothic style became popular again houses of parliament, st pancras station, town halls in cities like Manchester and Sheffield

Question 35

architecture in the 20th century

Answer 35

Sir Edwin Lutyens designed New Delhi to be the seat of government in India after WWI, responsible for war memorials like the Cenotaph in Whitehall - site of the annual Remembrance Day service

Question 36

modern British architects

Answer 36

Sir Norman Foster, Lord Richard Rogers and Dame Zaha Hadid

Question 37

landscaping and garden design

Answer 37

in the 18th century, Lancelot Capability Brown designed the grounds around country houses so that the landscape appeared to be natural, with grass, trees and lakes Gertrude Jekyll worked with Edwin Lutyens to design colourful gardens around the houses he designed annual Chelsea Flower Show showcases garden design from Britain and around the world

Question 38

designers

Answer 38

Thomas Chippendale (furniture in the 18th century) Clarice Cliff (Art Deco ceramics) Sir Terence Conran (20th century interior designer) Mary Quant, Alexander McQueen, Vivienne Westwood (fashion designers

Question 39

British writers winning the Nobel Prize in Literature

Answer 39

novellist Sir William Golding, poet Seamus Heaney, playwright Harold Pinter

Question 40

country's best-loved novel in 2003

Answer 40

the lord of the rings

Question 41

Man Booker Prize for Fiction

Answer 41

awarded annually for the best fiction novel written by an author from the commonwealth, Ireland or Zimbabwe awarded since 1968 past winners include Ian McEwan, Hilary Mantel and Julian Barnes

Question 42

Jane Austen

Answer 42

English novelist Pride and prejudice, sense and sensibility concerned with marriage and family relationships

Question 43

Charles Dickens

Answer 43

Oliver Twist, Great Expectations

Question 44

Robert Louis Stevenson

Answer 44

Treasure Island, Kidnapped, Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde

Question 45

Thomas Hardy

Answer 45

author and poet focus on rural society far from the madding crowd, jude the obscure

Question 46

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Answer 46

Scottish doctor and writer best known for his stories about Sherlock Holmes, who was one of the first fictional detectives

Question 47

Evelyn Waugh

Answer 47

satirical novels Decline and Fall, Scoop, Brideshead Revisited

Question 48

Sir Kingsley Amis

Answer 48

English novelist and poet wrote more than 20 poets most well known is Lucky Jim

Question 49

Graham Greene

Answer 49

novels often influenced by his religious beliefs The Heart of the Matter, The Honorary Consul, Brighton Rock, Our Man in Havana

Question 50

JK Rowling

Answer 50

Harry Potter series

Question 51

Anglo-Saxon poem Beowulf

Answer 51

hero's battles against monsters

Question 52

poems from the Middle Ages

Answer 52

Chaucer's Canterbury Tales poem called Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Question 53

sonnets

Answer 53

poems that are 14 lines long

Question 54

John Milton

Answer 54

Paradise Lost

Question 55

William Woodsworth

Answer 55

inspired by nature

Question 56

Sir Walter Scott

Answer 56

poems inspired by Scotland