Music - Section 2 [Grand Canyon Suite]

Question 1

Which American composer regarded himself
as a “composer of Americana,” an achievement
helped by his widespread exposure to the United
States?

Answer 1

Ferde Grofé

Question 2

When was the Grand Canyon Suite composed?

Answer 2

Between 1929 and 1931

Question 3

Where was Ferde Grofé born?

Answer 3

New York

Question 4

When was Ferde Grofé born?

Answer 4

1892

Question 5

How old was Ferde Grofé when he began performing professionally?

Answer 5

15

Question 6

How old was Ferde Grofé when he joined the Los Angeles Symphony Orchestra as a violinist?

Answer 6

17

Question 7

How long did Ferde Grofé remain with the Los Angeles Symphony Orchestra?

Answer 7

ten years

Question 8

What orchestra did Ferde Grofé join as an arranger

Answer 8

Paul Whiteman Orchestra

Question 9

When did Ferde Grofé join the orchestra as an arranger?

Answer 9

1920

Question 10

Who wrote Rhapsody in Blue?

Answer 10

George Gershwin

Question 11

Who created the symphonic jazz arrangement of the two-piano version of Rhapsody in Blue?

in 1924

Answer 11

Ferde Grofé

Question 12

Who adapted Ferde Grofé’s Grand Canyon Suite score for a 1958 short film depicting numerous vistas of the canyon?

Answer 12

Walt Disney

Question 13

What award did Walt Disney’s film depicting the Grand Canyon win?

Answer 13

The Academy Award for Best Short Subject (Live Action)

Question 14

What would inspire Ferde Grofé to write the Grand Canyon Suite?

Answer 14

Joining a U.S. calvary band during World War 1 as a baritone

He joined in 1917

Question 15

Who took Ferde Grofé camping at the Grand Canyon while he was in Arizona?

Answer 15

A sheriff friend

Question 16

What was one of the earliest of North America’s natural wonders to be viewed by outsiders?

Answer 16

The Grand Canyon

Question 17

When was part of the Grand Canyon designated as a forest reserve?

Answer 17

In 1893

Question 18

When did the U.S. National Park Service take jurisdiction of the Grand Canyon as a national park?

Answer 18

In 1919

Question 19

How many visitors came to the Grand Canyon in 2022?

Answer 19

Over 4.7 million

Question 20

How large is the Grand Canyon national park?

Answer 20

Over 1.2 million acres

Question 21

What was the working title of Ferde Grofe’s Grand Canyon Suite?

Answer 21

Five Pictures of the Grand Canyon

Question 22

Who does Ferde Grofé credit as the inspiration for the “On the Trail” movement?

Answer 22

Eddie King, a recording supervisor at Columbia Records

Question 23

When did the Grand Canyon Suite debut?

Answer 23

1931

Question 24

What are the five movements of the Grand Canyon Suite?

Answer 24

1. Sunrise
2. Painted Desert
3. On the Trail
4. Sunset
5. Cloudburst

Question 25

What is a character piece?

Answer 25

When the composer tries to capture the essence of something without depicting a programmatic storyline

Question 26

What is an encore?

Answer 26

When the audience demands a repetition of a piece

Question 27

Who conducted the debut of the *Grand Canyon Suite*?

Answer 27

Paul Whiteman

Question 28

Which movement was played as an encore at the debut of the *Grand Canyon Suite*?

Answer 28

*On the Trail*

Question 29

What is a program?

Answer 29

An explanation for each movement of a suite

Question 30

What pioneer is believed to have initiated the practice of putting tourists on mules?

Answer 30

John Hance

Question 31

How is the *On the Trail* movement of the *Grand Canyon Suite* concluded?

Answer 31

With the bray of a burro

Question 32

What musical element did Grofé employ to create the sound of a braying burro?

Answer 32

The disjunct drop of a major seventh

Question 33

What term describes musically challenging parts of a piece?

Answer 33

Virtuostic | From the term for musically gifted: Virtuoso

Question 34

What is a cadenza?

Answer 34

A passage without a steady beat, typically played by a solo instrument in a cocerto or other major work, displaying virtuostic technique and occasional improvisation

Question 35

Who helped Ferde Grofé create the cadenza in *On the Trail*

Answer 35

Violinist **Kurt Dieterle**

Question 36

What is a drumroll?

Answer 36

When the drummer hammers rapidly on the drumhead with two mallets

Question 37

*On the Trail* begins with what musical component?

Answer 37

a sustained *fortissimo* drum roll played by the timpani

Question 38

What is an arpeggio?

Answer 38

When the notes of a chord ascend (or descend) in succession

Question 39

What is a fermata?

Answer 39

A moment in a piece where the forward motion stops briefly (either via sustained pitches or via a rest)

Question 40

What is a *glissando*

Answer 40

The technique of sliding down through adjacent pitches

Question 41

What is a double-stop?

Answer 41

Technique where a violinist plays on two strings at once

Question 42

What two important motifs does the violinist introduce in the cadenza of *On the Trail*?

Answer 42

"Cowboy Song" and "Burro" motifs

Question 43

What were the two sources of inspiration for Grofé’s "Burro" motif

Answer 43

1. Thumping pile-drivers at a construction site 2. The song "Horses" by Byron Gay and Richard Whiting

Question 44

How did Grofé’s son contribute to the "Cowboy Song" motif?

Answer 44

Tune was somethign Grofé hummed to put his infant son to sleep

Question 45

# In Ferde Grofé’s *Grand Canyon Suite*... What is the form of the main melodies after the violin cadenza

Answer 45

A-B-A-C-A rondo form

Question 46

# In Ferde Grofé’s *Grand Canyon Suite*... In the A section of the rondo, what does the orchestra use to simulate the clip-clop sound of hooves?

Answer 46

Coconut shells or, occassionally, temple blocks

Question 47

# In Ferde Grofé’s *Grand Canyon Suite*... What is the name of the small keyboard-operated percussion instrument that produces a bell-like sound, used during the waterfall and music box sections?

Answer 47

Celesta ## Footnote Also used in "Hedwig's Theme" in the Harry Potter films

Question 48

# In Ferde Grofé’s *Grand Canyon Suite*... What is the identifying characteristic of the Rondo C section?

Answer 48

The "music box" cadenza played by solo celesta

Question 49

What radio show used Grofé’s "On the Trail" as its signature tune for twenty years?

Answer 49

The Phillip Morris Show

Question 50

# In Ferde Grofé’s *Grand Canyon Suite*... What part is an example in a long tradition of programmatic thunderstorms?

Answer 50

"Cloudburst" - the finale