exam 3

Question 1

Strauss, Elektra

Answer 1

1909

Question 2

Stravinsky, Rite of Spring

Answer 2

1913

Question 3

1914-1918

Answer 3

World War 1

Question 4

1923

Answer 4

Scoenberg, suite for piano

Question 5

Gershwin, rhapsody in blue

Answer 5

1924

Question 6

World war 2

Answer 6

1939-1945

Question 7

Cage, 4’33

Answer 7

1952

Question 8

Ligeti, Atmospheres

Answer 8

1961

Question 9

Riley, In C

Answer 9

1964

Question 10

Berio, Sinfonia

Answer 10

1969

Question 11

Reich, Music for 18 musicians

Answer 11

1976

Question 12

German composer and conductor of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century,
composed primarily song-cycles and, most notably, symphonies. His symphonic output is noteworthy for the
size of each of his works and their strongly emotional (and often autobiographical) content: no one of his symphonies
is written for an orchestra smaller than 90-100 players, and the shortest among them is over 50 minutes in length.

Answer 12

Gustav Mahler

Question 13

) German composer and conductor of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century.
Sometimes a friend, and often a rival of Mahler, he worked in complementary genres to Gustav: tone poems and
operas. He was particularly innovative in 1890s and 1900s- and his operas Salome and Elektra trace the evolution of
German music from late Romanticism to Expressionism.

Answer 13

Richard Strauss

Question 14

) Finnish composer of instrumental music, and most notably, symphonies. While
was often scorned in German speaking countries until the 1980s, his symphonies, among the first important works in
that genre by a non-German, were considered to be a model of the form to many non-Germans, particularly in
England and America. A nationalist composer, he represents Finland’s struggle for independence to many people of
that country, and he is celebrated on currency and with his own national holiday in Finland.

Answer 14

Jean Sibelius

Question 15

French composer of the late nineteenth century, worked primarily in the
genres of piano, orchestral, and chamber music. He is notable for being perhaps the first composer of musical
impressionism, incorporating modality, elements of Asian musical traditions, harmonic stasis, and other nonEuropean elements in his output.

Answer 15

Claude Debussy

Question 16

The most important French impressionist, alongside his friend and rival, Debussy,
similarly worked primarily in the genres of piano and orchestral music. A perfectionist, he was a notably slow
composer and his output is comparably small. He is noteworthy also for his orchestration: he has enjoyed a
reputation, and deservedly so, as one of the most skilled of all composers at writing for the orchestra.

Answer 16

Maurice Ravel

Question 17

German composer of the early 20th century, disciple of Mahler, and influential
musical innovator. was one of the first composers to write wholly atonal music and, in the early 1920s,
developed the twelve-tone method- a system of composition that was to exert a massive influence on many
subsequent composers of the 20th century

Answer 17

Arnold Schoenberg

Question 18

) An American composer of the early 20th century, was hugely innovative, anticipating
many compositional techniques of the mid-20th-century decades before their time. His works incorporated
microtonality, polytonality, tone clusters, and polyrhythm, among other innovations.

Answer 18

Charles Ives

Question 19

Hungarian composer of the early 20th century, was, like his contemporary
Stravinsky, an influential musical innovator. Writing piano music, concerti, and, perhaps most notably, string
quartets, music often incorporated the folk music of his native country within a compositional language that
was revolutionary harmonically and formally.

Answer 19

Bela Bartok

Question 20

Russian composer and perhaps the most influential musical innovator of the first half of
the 20th century, wrote in almost every musical genre in his long life. He is perhaps most notable for his
1913 ballet, Le Sacre du Printemps (The Rite of Spring), which famously caused a riot at its premiere and changed
European musical style inextricably and for the remainder of the 20th century.

Answer 20

Igor Stravinsky

Question 21

American composer of popular songs and orchestral music, is most notable
for being one of the first composers to attempt to marry the traditions of jazz and classical music.

Answer 21

George Gershwin

Question 22

Soviet composer of the early-mid 20th century. was most prolific in
the genres of symphony and string quartet. His large symphonies, often compared to Mahler’s in size and emotional
scope, are some of the most popular of all 20th century orchestral works. Throughout his life, he had a complicated
relationship with the Soviet state, and debate still continues as to whether or not the “patriotic” elements present in
his style are fully sincere.

Answer 22

Dmitri Shostakovich (

Question 23

American composer of the 20th century, is often regarded as the father of
American music. Not only did he craft a distinctly American style in works like Billy the Kid, Rodeo, and Appalachian
Spring, among others, but he served as a teacher and mentor to a great deal of young American artists.

Answer 23

Aaron Copland

Question 24

British composer of the mid 20th century, straddled the divide between the
avant-garde and more traditional composers- writing music that was innovative but often quite accessible. He is
perhaps best known as an opera composer, and his operas, especially Peter Grimes (1945) are among the most
important 20th-century examples of that genre.

Answer 24

Benjamin Britten

Question 25

French composer of the mid-late 20th century, was notable in pioneering integral
serialism- taking the twelve-tone method as developed by Schoenberg and applying it more broadly to all elements
of music: rhythm, dynamic, instrumentation, etc.

Answer 25

Pierre Boulez

Question 26

) French composer of the mid-late 20th century, was devoutly religious and his
music is often highly spiritual in nature. Although his style is often more accessible than his younger contemporary,
Boulez, music was similarly innovative, featuring rhythmic complexity, a unique harmonic language, and
elements of Indian and East Asian musical traditions.

Answer 26

Oliver Messiaen (

Question 27

Hungarian avant-garde composer, composed in many innovative styles in his long
compositional life. Perhaps most notably, his 1961 orchestral composition Atmospheres employs what Ligeti
describes as “micropolyphony”- lines of dense canons, inaudible to the listener, moving in “clouds” of a tone-clusterlike texture.

Answer 27

György Liget

Question 28

A Polish composer, primarily of orchestral music, was innovative in
incorporating elements of chance music into his style. He would often leave essential compositional elements up to
the performers of his works, a technique known as aleatory.

Answer 28

Witold Lutoslawski (

Question 29

A hugely influential American composer and musical philosopher, works exist at the
intersection of sound and music, and ask us to consider what music is. His innovations include the use of chance
music and the use of household items as instruments, among many others. He is perhaps most notable to the
layperson for his work 4’33’’, in which the performer of the work is instructed not to play, and the ambient noise that
is produced within the timeframe of the work constitutes the music of the piece.

Answer 29

John Cage

Question 30

-) An American composer of the late 20th century, is known as one of the founders of
musical minimalism. Eschewing the orchestra, Reich, also a percussionist, wrote primarily for small ensembles,
frequently incorporating electronics and amplification. His Music for 18 Musicians is often regarded as the seminal
work of musical minimalism.

Answer 30

Steve Reich

Question 31

An American composer of the late 20th and early 21st century,is primarily known as a
composer of orchestral works and of operas. He is perhaps best known as one of the first composers to write in a
minimalist style for orchestra, and although his style has since evolved from minimalism, elements of that tradition
remain a strong influence on his music.

Answer 31

John Adams

Question 32

British composer who is often considered, alongside Adams, Reich and Saariaho, to be one of
the most important composers living today. Like many composers active today, music is eclectic, incorporating
and combining many musical traditions and styles. Known for his orchestral music and piano music, is also
known for his three influential operas: Powder Her Face, The Tempest, and 2016’s The Exterminating Angel.

Answer 32

Thomas Adés

Question 33

was a time of fundamental optimism in Europe: wealth accrued from colonial empires,
technological progress, increased literacy and education for most people, and improved access to healthcare
all fostered a belief that the world was fundamentally changing for the better.

Answer 33

19th century

Question 34

was an absolutely cataclysmic event for Europe. It not only resulted in the deaths of tens of
millions, but changed European culture, largely speaking, from one that was fundamentally optimistic to one
that was pessimistic. The grand optimism of late-Romanticism, typified by Mahler and Strauss, would not be
possible in this new world.

Answer 34

World war 1

Question 35

were a prosperous and decadent time, and was an era of exploration and innovation in music.
Music in the _ embraced the avant-garde, employing dissonance, rhythmic innovation, and elements of
popular music (particularly jazz) in an effort to produce art that was truly new.

Answer 35

1920s

Question 36

For the first time since at least the __century, classical musicians were gradually sidelined, as popular
music and jazz began to replace the classical music the dominant art form to most people. As classical music
was so concerned with innovation- producing music that was not necessarily easy to listen to- audiences
turned to other styles in response.

Answer 36

18th

Question 37

In reaction to the -__and the increased nationalism of the 1930s, composers, typically
speaking, wrote in a music more accessible (and often overtly patriotic) style in the 30s and early 40s than
they did in the 1920s. In the Soviet Union and America in particular, those composers who were
experimenting in the 20s- Copland, Prokofiev, and Shostakovich- sought to produce art that would mean
something to ordinary people.

Answer 37

Great Depression

Question 38

Like World War I before it, ____ inextricably changed European culture. European artists and
musicians, many of whom had watched the destruction of their homelands in the conflict, made a conscious
and fundamental break with the past in an effort to construct a new, and hopefully better, culture.

Answer 38

World War 2

Question 39

Among those __ present in post-World War II music include chance music, integral serialism, and
postmodernism, among many others.

Answer 39

Innovations

Question 40

The ___ of music in academia meant that most composers were no longer compelled to court
popularity in order to secure their financial futures: they could simply teach at a university and write what
music they wanted, heedless of public tastes. This new system furthered the rift between classical music and
ordinary people; in the decades following World War II, new classical music meant less and less (and
eventually nearly nothing) to non-musicians.

Answer 40

Inclusion

Question 41

In the ____ reaction to the experimentalism of the previous decades eventually arose, perhaps
most importantly in minimalism, which was characterized by harmonic stasis, consonant chords, rhythmic
predictability, and by audible musical process.

Answer 41

1970s and 80s