Ned Rorem - Exam
Ned Rorem
  • 1. When was Ned Rorem born?
A) 1923
B) 1945
C) 1973
D) 1960
  • 2. Ned Rorem is best known for being a:
A) Composer
B) Athlete
C) Architect
D) Painter
  • 3. In which city was Ned Rorem born?
A) Richmond, Indiana
B) Detroit, Michigan
C) New York City, New York
D) San Francisco, California
  • 4. Ned Rorem received a Fulbright Scholarship to study in which country?
A) Russia
B) Japan
C) France
D) Brazil
  • 5. In addition to English, Ned Rorem is fluent in which language?
A) Spanish
B) German
C) Italian
D) French
  • 6. Ned Rorem is known for his collaborations with which type of artists?
A) Architects
B) Sculptors
C) Poets
D) Chefs
  • 7. One of Ned Rorem's well-known books is titled:
A) The Paris Diary
B) The Tokyo Journal
C) The London Chronicles
D) The New York Cookbook
  • 8. Which institution bestowed an honorary doctorate upon Ned Rorem?
A) Yale University
B) Sorbonne University
C) Oxford University
D) Juilliard School
  • 9. Which famous conductor championed Ned Rorem's music?
A) Herbert von Karajan
B) Leonard Bernstein
C) Gustavo Dudamel
D) Arturo Toscanini
  • 10. What is Ned Rorem best known for?
A) His operas, which are widely performed.
B) His symphonies, which have won numerous awards.
C) His film scores, which are critically acclaimed.
D) His art songs, which number over 500.
  • 11. Which musical movement is Ned Rorem frequently described as a part of?
A) Modernist.
B) Minimalist.
C) Expressionist.
D) Neoromantic.
  • 12. Who were some of Ned Rorem's early music teachers?
A) Margaret Bonds and Leo Sowerby.
B) Nuta Rothschild and Belle Tannenbaum.
C) Aaron Copland and Virgil Thomson.
D) Francis Poulenc and Darius Milhaud.
  • 13. Which composer's work inspired the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association?
A) Margaret Bonds.
B) Clarence Rufus Rorem.
C) Ned Rorem.
D) Leo Sowerby.
  • 14. What was Ned Rorem's lifelong partner's name?
A) Marie-Laure de Noailles.
B) Rosemary.
C) James Holmes.
D) Paul Goodman.
  • 15. Where did Ned Rorem teach from 1980 onwards?
A) The Curtis Institute.
B) The Paris Conservatory.
C) The University of Chicago.
D) The American Conservatory of Music.
  • 16. What is considered Ned Rorem's magnum opus?
A) Our Town.
B) Air Music: Ten Etudes for Orchestra.
C) Evidence of Things Not Seen.
D) Seven different commissions for the American Bicentennial.
  • 17. Which award did Ned Rorem win for Air Music: Ten Etudes for Orchestra?
A) The Academy Award for Best Original Score.
B) The Pulitzer Prize for Music in 1976.
C) The Grammy Award for Best Classical Composition.
D) The Tony Award for Best Original Score.
  • 18. What was the last major work of Ned Rorem?
A) Air Music: Ten Etudes for Orchestra.
B) The opera Our Town.
C) Seven different commissions for the American Bicentennial.
D) Evidence of Things Not Seen.
  • 19. Which French composers influenced Ned Rorem's enthusiasm for French music?
A) Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel.
B) Claude Debussy and Igor Stravinsky.
C) Francis Poulenc and Darius Milhaud.
D) Igor Stravinsky and Maurice Ravel.
  • 20. What was the cultural background of Ned Rorem's family?
A) Working-class with a strong Jewish emphasis.
B) Middle-class with a strong Protestant emphasis.
C) Upper middle-class, semi-bohemian with a strong Quaker emphasis.
D) Upper-class with a strong Catholic emphasis.
  • 21. What did Ned Rorem's father Clarence Rufus Rorem inspire?
A) The American Conservatory of Music.
B) The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association.
C) The Curtis Institute.
D) The University of Chicago Laboratory Schools.
  • 22. Who was Ned Rorem's first piano teacher who made a lasting impression?
A) Belle Tannenbaum.
B) Margaret Bonds.
C) Nuta Rothschild.
D) Leo Sowerby.
  • 23. Which composer's piano concerto did Ned Rorem perform as a youth?
A) Maurice Ravel.
B) Edvard Grieg.
C) Claude Debussy.
D) Igor Stravinsky.
  • 24. What was the name of the arts patron who hosted Ned Rorem in Paris?
A) Nuta Rothschild.
B) Belle Tannenbaum.
C) Marie-Laure de Noailles.
D) Margaret Bonds.
  • 25. Which group influenced Ned Rorem in Paris?
A) Les Six.
B) The Quakers.
C) The Impressionists.
D) The American Bicentennial.
  • 26. How many texts by how many writers did the song cycle Evidence of Things Not Seen include?
A) 50 texts by 30 writers.
B) 36 texts by 24 writers.
C) 24 texts by 36 writers.
D) 30 texts by 50 writers.
  • 27. What was Ned Rorem's self-described religious identity?
A) Protestant.
B) Quaker atheist.
C) Catholic.
D) Jewish.
  • 28. What was the name of the school Ned Rorem attended in Chicago?
A) The University of Chicago Laboratory Schools.
B) The Curtis Institute.
C) The American Conservatory of Music.
D) The Paris Conservatory.
  • 29. Which future writer did Ned Rorem become friends with in his youth?
A) Margaret Bonds.
B) Paul Goodman.
C) Nuta Rothschild.
D) Leo Sowerby.
  • 30. What did Ned Rorem's mother Gladys Miller Rorem actively participate in?
A) Antiwar movements and the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers).
B) The Impressionist movement.
C) The modernist aesthetic.
D) The American Bicentennial.
  • 31. Who were Ned Rorem's composition teachers at Northwestern University?
A) Alfred Nolte
B) Rosario Scalero
C) Gian Carlo Menotti
D) Bernard Wagenaar
  • 32. Under whom did Ned Rorem study piano at Northwestern University?
A) Harold Van Horne
B) Alfred Nolte
C) Gian Carlo Menotti
D) Bernard Wagenaar
  • 33. Which composer did Ned Rorem study orchestration with in New York?
A) Aaron Copland
B) Mishel Piastro
C) Virgil Thomson
D) Leonard Bernstein
  • 34. In what year did Ned Rorem transfer to the Curtis Institute of Music?
A) 1946
B) 1940
C) 1942
D) 1943
  • 35. Who did Ned Rorem study counterpoint under at Curtis Institute of Music?
A) Gian Carlo Menotti
B) Bernard Wagenaar
C) Rosario Scalero
D) Alfred Nolte
  • 36. What was the title of one of Ned Rorem's compositions premiered in 1943?
A) Piano Sonata for Four Hands
B) The 70th Psalm
C) The Lordly Hudson
D) Overture in C
  • 37. Why did Ned Rorem leave the Curtis Institute of Music?
A) He lost his allowance
B) He considered Rosario Scalero unprogressive
C) He wanted to study at Juilliard
D) He moved to New York
  • 38. Who was Ned Rorem's composition teacher at Juilliard School?
A) Alfred Nolte
B) Gian Carlo Menotti
C) Bernard Wagenaar
D) Rosario Scalero
  • 39. Which famous dancer did Ned Rorem work as a piano accompanist for?
A) Isadora Duncan
B) Martha Graham
C) Anna Pavlova
D) Éva Gauthier
  • 40. Which orchestra premiered Ned Rorem's 'Overture in C' in May 1948?
A) Philadelphia Orchestra
B) New York Philharmonic
C) Boston Symphony Orchestra
D) Cleveland Orchestra
  • 41. Who conducted the premiere of 'Overture in C'?
A) Leonard Bernstein
B) Virgil Thomson
C) Mishel Piastro
D) Aaron Copland
  • 42. In which year did Ned Rorem leave for France?
A) 1952
B) 1949
C) 1951
D) 1950
  • 43. Where did Ned Rorem spend much of his time after leaving for France in early 1949?
A) Morocco
B) Italy
C) Spain
D) Germany
  • 44. What did Ned Rorem say was the best influence for a composer?
A) City life
B) Nature
C) Travel
D) Four walls
  • 45. Which ballet by Ned Rorem won the Prix de Biarritz in 1951?
A) Dorian Gray
B) Melos
C) Ballet for Jerry
D) A Childhood Miracle
  • 46. Who premiered Ned Rorem's Symphony No. 1 in Vienna?
A) Arthur Honegger
B) Nadia Boulanger
C) Jonathan Sternberg
D) Julius Katchen
  • 47. In what year was Ned Rorem's first opera, A Childhood Miracle, premiered?
A) 1953
B) 1954
C) 1951
D) 1955
  • 48. Which award did Ned Rorem receive in 1950?
A) Lili Boulanger Memorial Fund Award
B) Fulbright Scholarship
C) Grammy Award
D) Pulitzer Prize
  • 49. Who did Ned Rorem study with in Paris?
A) Arthur Honegger
B) Elliott Stein
C) Marie-Laure de Noailles
D) Nadia Boulanger
  • 50. Which song cycle by Ned Rorem was dedicated to medieval French poems?
A) To a Young Girl
B) Cycle of Holy Songs
C) Poémes pour la paix
D) Flight for Heaven
  • 51. What year did a Paris concert feature solely Ned Rorem's compositions?
A) 1955
B) 1953
C) 1950
D) 1951
  • 52. Which of Ned Rorem's compositions premiered in 1954?
A) Poémes pour la paix
B) A Childhood Miracle
C) Symphony No. 1
D) Piano Concerto No. 2
  • 53. Who premiered Ned Rorem's Piano Concerto No. 2?
A) Nadia Boulanger
B) Arthur Honegger
C) Jonathan Sternberg
D) Julius Katchen
  • 54. Which composer from Les Six did Ned Rorem meet through Marie-Laure de Noailles?
A) Johann Sebastian Bach
B) Ludwig van Beethoven
C) Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
D) Francis Poulenc
  • 55. What was the source of the text for Ned Rorem's song cycle 'To a Young Girl'?
A) George Darley
B) Nathaniel Hawthorne
C) Robert Herrick
D) W. B. Yeats
  • 56. Which of the following was not a composition by Ned Rorem during his time in Paris?
A) Piano Sonata No. 2
B) Symphony No. 3
C) Ballet for Jerry
D) The Poet's Requiem
  • 57. In which year did Rorem return to the US to further pursue composition?
A) 1960
B) 1965
C) 1957 or 1958
D) 1955
  • 58. Which orchestra premiered Rorem's 'Eagles' in 1959?
A) Chicago Symphony Orchestra
B) Philadelphia Orchestra
C) Boston Symphony Orchestra
D) New York Philharmonic
  • 59. Which opera by Rorem was not well received at its premiere in 1965?
A) Poems of Love and Rain
B) Miss Julie
C) Eagles
D) Symphony No. 3
  • 60. Which foundation did NOT commission Rorem?
A) Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge Foundation
B) Koussevitzky Foundation
C) Ford Foundation
D) Guggenheim Foundation
  • 61. How long did Rorem teach at the University of Buffalo?
A) 1957 to 1958
B) 1965 to 1967
C) 1959 to 1960
D) 1960 to 1962
  • 62. What did Rorem believe about teaching assignments lasting more than two years?
A) They are unnecessary
B) They are essential for growth
C) They enhance creativity
D) They lead to sterility
  • 63. When was 'Poems of Love and Rain' premiered?
A) April 12, 1963
B) April 12, 1966
C) April 12, 1964
D) April 12, 1965
  • 64. What was Rorem's struggle throughout the 1950s and 60s?
A) Alcoholism
B) Depression
C) Addiction to drugs
D) Financial difficulties
  • 65. What did Rorem say happened when a drop of wine touched his lips?
A) He became more creative
B) He felt a sense of guilt
C) He felt a sense of peace
D) An infantile regression takes place
  • 66. Which organization did Rorem attend meetings for?
A) Overeaters Anonymous
B) Gamblers Anonymous
C) Narcotics Anonymous
D) Alcoholics Anonymous
  • 67. What medication did Rorem use to help with his alcoholism?
A) Antabuse
B) Acamprosate
C) Naltrexone
D) Disulfiram
  • 68. What did Rorem's relationship with Holmes provide him?
A) A teaching position
B) Inspiration for new compositions
C) Stability to abandon alcohol
D) Financial support
  • 69. Where did Ned Rorem and Holmes buy a summer house in 1974?
A) Nantucket, Massachusetts
B) Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts
C) Boston, Massachusetts
D) Provincetown, Massachusetts
  • 70. Which work by Wallace Stevens inspired Ned Rorem's 1977 orchestral suite?
A) Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird
B) The Idea of Order at Key West
C) The Emperor of Ice-Cream
D) Sunday Morning
  • 71. In which year did Ned Rorem start teaching at the Curtis Institute?
A) 1974
B) 1993
C) 1980
D) 1985
  • 72. Who was one of Ned Rorem's students at the Curtis Institute?
A) Steve Reich
B) Philip Glass
C) John Adams
D) Daron Hagen
  • 73. For whom did Ned Rorem write the Piano Concerto No. 4 for Left Hand and Orchestra?
A) Leonard Bernstein
B) Yo-Yo Ma
C) Mstislav Rostropovich
D) Gary Graffman
  • 74. Which section of 'Evidence of Things Not Seen' concerns death?
A) Transitions
B) Middles
C) Ends
D) Beginnings
  • 75. Which section of 'Evidence of Things Not Seen' explores coming of age?
A) Beginnings
B) Ends
C) Middles
D) Transitions
  • 76. In which year did Ned Rorem become president of the American Academy of Arts and Letters?
A) 2000
B) 1990
C) 1995
D) 2003
  • 77. Which event inspired Ned Rorem's ten-part song cycle 'Aftermath'?
A) The fall of the Berlin Wall
B) The Vietnam War
C) The end of World War II
D) The September 11 attacks
  • 78. To whom were the 2002 concertos dedicated?
A) Gustav Mahler
B) Aaron Copland
C) Thomas Schippers
D) Leonard Bernstein
  • 79. What was the title of Ned Rorem's final work?
A) The Last Waltz
B) End of an Era
C) Recalling Nadia
D) Final Symphony
  • 80. At what age did Ned Rorem pass away?
A) 75
B) 85
C) 110
D) 99
  • 81. What did Rorem generally reject in his compositions?
A) Strict modernist aesthetics
B) Song cycles
C) Piano accompaniments
D) Tonal music
  • 82. To which poet did Rorem dedicate three song cycles?
A) Walt Whitman
B) Paul Goodman
C) Theodore Roethke
D) John Ashbery
  • 83. What language did Rorem criticize American colleagues for prioritizing over English in song settings?
A) French
B) German
C) Other languages
D) Italian
  • 84. Which of the following is NOT a poet whose works Rorem set to music?
A) Emily Dickinson
B) Witter Bynner
C) Wallace Stevens
D) Sylvia Plath
  • 85. What technique does Rorem sometimes use in his piano accompaniments?
A) Aleatoric music
B) Minimalism
C) Serialism
D) Renaissance-derived ground bass
  • 86. Which composer's songs did Rorem name as a particular favorite?
A) Schumann
B) Mozart
C) Stravinsky
D) Bach
  • 87. Which of the following poets is NOT mentioned as having works set by Rorem?
A) Frank O'Hara
B) Alfred, Lord Tennyson
C) Kenneth Koch
D) Robert Frost
  • 88. In what year was Ned Rorem's full-length opera 'Miss Julie' first written?
A) 1965
B) 1979
C) 1994
D) 2005
  • 89. Who wrote the libretto for 'Miss Julie'?
A) Ned Rorem
B) August Strindberg
C) Kenward Elmslie
D) Thornton Wilder
  • 90. What was unique about the opera 'The Anniversary'?
A) It was performed in 1961.
B) It was based on the serialist tone row.
C) It was based on a Chaucer tale.
D) It was written by Kenneth Koch.
  • 91. What is the title of the opera based on La Fontaine's Fables?
A) Bertha
B) Hearing
C) Fables
D) Three Sisters who are Not Sisters
  • 92. Which librettist collaborated with Rorem on 'Three Sisters who are Not Sisters'?
A) Stein
B) Holmes
C) Kenneth Koch
D) Jascha Kessler
  • 93. Which opera by Rorem was never performed?
A) The Robbers
B) The Anniversary
C) Miss Julie
D) Our Town
  • 94. What is the narrative style of 'Our Town'?
A) Fragmented
B) Extended
C) Elaborate
D) Condensed
  • 95. Which opera by Rorem was based on Chaucer's 'The Pardoner's Tale'?
A) The Robbers
B) Bertha
C) Our Town
D) Miss Julie
  • 96. Which critic noted that 'Our Town' deserves bigger stages?
A) Kenneth Koch
B) Joshua Barone
C) Thornton Wilder
D) Harold C. Schonberg
  • 97. Which opera by Rorem was written in 1968?
A) The Robbers
B) Bertha
C) The Anniversary
D) Fables
  • 98. Which opera by Rorem was based on a libretto by Holmes?
A) Hearing
B) The Robbers
C) The Anniversary
D) Fables
  • 99. During which decade were Ned Rorem's three numbered symphonies composed?
A) 1950s
B) 1970s
C) 1960s
D) 1940s
  • 100. What did David Hurwitz compare the melodies in Rorem's symphonies to?
A) Beethoven's Symphony No. 9
B) Bach's Brandenburg Concertos
C) Mozart's Requiem
D) Ravel's Daphnis et Chloë
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