- 1. The Rest Is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century by Alex Ross is an insightful and expansive exploration of the music of the twentieth century, intricately weaving together the social, political, and cultural contexts that shaped the landscape of modern classical music. Ross, a music critic for The New Yorker, takes readers on a captivating journey from the aftermath of World War I through the rise of composers like Stravinsky, Schoenberg, and Copland, illustrating how their revolutionary works changed the fabric of musical expression. The narrative is rich with anecdotes about key figures in the music world, revealing their personal struggles and triumphs, as well as the reception of their innovative compositions. Through his meticulous research and engaging prose, Ross not only chronicles the evolution of musical styles and philosophies but also addresses the profound impact of historical events on the art of music, showcasing how the fears, joys, and conflicts of the century found their voice through sound. The book is not just a history; it is a passionate plea for the appreciation of music's complexity and its crucial role in shaping human experience, making it an essential read for anyone interested in understanding the intricate tapestry of music that defines the modern era.
What is the subtitle of Alex Ross's book 'The Rest is Noise'?
A) A History of Modern Music
B) The Sound of Revolution
C) Listening to the Twentieth Century
D) From Wagner to Radiohead
- 2. Which city was the center of a musical revolution in the early 20th century, as described by Ross?
A) Vienna
B) London
C) Paris
D) New York
- 3. What is the term for the atonal composition system developed by the Second Viennese School?
A) Minimalism
B) Chance music
C) Impressionism
D) Twelve-tone technique
- 4. Which American composer, known for his populist style, is discussed in the chapter 'The Art of Fear'?
A) George Gershwin
B) Aaron Copland
C) John Cage
D) Charles Ives
- 5. Under which totalitarian regime did Dmitri Shostakovich compose his controversial symphonies?
A) Soviet Union
B) Fascist Italy
C) Nazi Germany
D) Francoist Spain
- 6. What was the name of the Nazi exhibition that denounced modern art and music as 'degenerate'?
A) Gleichschaltung
B) Volksmusik
C) Die Endlösung
D) Entartete Kunst
- 7. Which French composer is associated with the musical style of Impressionism?
A) Camille Saint-Saëns
B) Claude Debussy
C) Hector Berlioz
D) Gabriel Fauré
- 8. What is the name of the method of composition using random elements, pioneered by John Cage?
A) Serialism
B) Microtonality
C) Polytonality
D) Chance operations
- 9. Which work by John Cage famously consists of four minutes and thirty-three seconds of silence?
A) Imaginary Landscape
B) Sonatas and Interludes
C) 4'33"
D) Music of Changes
- 10. Which American minimalist composer wrote 'Music for 18 Musicians'?
A) John Adams
B) Philip Glass
C) Terry Riley
D) Steve Reich
- 11. Which composer's work is central to the chapter 'The Pastoral'?
A) Benjamin Britten
B) Gustav Holst
C) Jean Sibelius
D) Ralph Vaughan Williams
- 12. What musical technique, involving the use of two or more keys simultaneously, is discussed in the book?
A) Dodecaphony
B) Sprechgesang
C) Atonality
D) Polytonality
- 13. The book discusses the impact of which technology on the dissemination of music in the 20th century?
A) Radio
B) Telephone
C) Cinema
D) Telegraph
- 14. Which composer is known for developing 'metric modulation'?
A) Samuel Barber
B) Elliott Carter
C) Leonard Bernstein
D) Ned Rorem
- 15. Which American composer, discussed by Ross, incorporated jazz elements into classical forms?
A) Aaron Copland
B) Duke Ellington
C) Leonard Bernstein
D) George Gershwin
- 16. What is the name of the electronic music studio in Cologne where Stockhausen worked?
A) Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center
B) IRCAM
C) BBC Radiophonic Workshop
D) WDR Studio for Electronic Music
- 17. Which composer wrote the 'War Requiem'?
A) Michael Tippett
B) Ralph Vaughan Williams
C) Benjamin Britten
D) William Walton
- 18. Which American composer is noted for developing a complex, dissonant style and living as an insurance executive?
A) Aaron Copland
B) John Cage
C) Leonard Bernstein
D) Charles Ives
- 19. What groundbreaking 1913 ballet caused a scandal with its primitive rhythms and dissonance?
A) The Rite of Spring
B) The Firebird
C) Swan Lake
D) Petrushka
- 20. Who composed the opera 'Wozzeck', a key work of atonal expressionism discussed in the book?
A) Alban Berg
B) Gustav Mahler
C) Kurt Weill
D) Anton Webern
- 21. Which composer is most associated with the twelve-tone technique or serialism?
A) Maurice Ravel
B) Arnold Schoenberg
C) Igor Stravinsky
D) Béla Bartók
- 22. What was the name of the artistic and cultural movement in Weimar Germany that influenced composers like Kurt Weill?
A) Symbolism
B) Futurism
C) New Objectivity (Neue Sachlichkeit)
D) Dadaism
- 23. Which American composer is known for using 'prepared piano' and ideas of chance in music?
A) John Cage
B) Steve Reich
C) George Gershwin
D) Philip Glass
- 24. Which Russian composer faced official condemnation from the Soviet government in 1948?
A) Sergei Prokofiev
B) Dmitri Shostakovich
C) Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
D) Igor Stravinsky
- 25. What is the name of the minimalist composition by Steve Reich that uses phasing tape loops?
A) Einstein on the Beach
B) In C
C) It's Gonna Rain
D) Music for 18 Musicians
- 26. What was the title of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's radio address program, which featured classical music?
A) Fireside Chats
B) American Voices
C) National Radio Address
D) The Oval Office Hour
- 27. Which composer led the BBC's Radiophonic Workshop and is known for the 'Doctor Who' theme?
A) Karlheinz Stockhausen
B) Pierre Boulez
C) Brian Eno
D) Delia Derbyshire
- 28. Who was the Hungarian composer known for his ethnomusicological work and use of folk melodies?
A) Béla Bartók
B) Franz Liszt
C) Zoltán Kodály
D) György Ligeti
- 29. What 1960s countercultural event featured performances by avant-garde composers like La Monte Young?
A) The Paris Exposition
B) The Harlem Renaissance
C) Woodstock
D) The Fluxus movement
- 30. What term describes the style of composers like Arvo Pärt, using simple harmonies and silence?
A) Sacred Serialism
B) New Simplicity
C) Neo-Classical
D) Holy Minimalism
- 31. Which opera by Benjamin Britten is a central work in the book's discussion of post-war British music?
A) Peter Grimes
B) The Turn of the Screw
C) Death in Venice
D) Billy Budd
- 32. Which American composer wrote the politically charged opera 'The Mother of Us All' about Susan B. Anthony?
A) Gian Carlo Menotti
B) Samuel Barber
C) Virgil Thomson
D) Ned Rorem
- 33. Who is the author of 'The Rest is Noise'?
A) Leonard Bernstein
B) Igor Stravinsky
C) John Cage
D) Alex Ross
- 34. Which Strauss opera scandalized audiences with its depiction of sexuality and biblical subject matter?
A) Salome
B) Elektra
C) Ariadne auf Naxos
D) Der Rosenkavalier
- 35. What is the collective name for Schoenberg and his pupils Berg and Webern?
A) The Vienna Circle
B) The Atonalists
C) The Second Viennese School
D) The Expressionists
- 36. Which German composer remained in Germany during the Nazi regime, a subject of controversy discussed in the book?
A) Arnold Schoenberg
B) Kurt Weill
C) Paul Hindemith
D) Richard Strauss
- 37. The book discusses the influence of which African American art form on composers like Gershwin?
A) Blues
B) Jazz
C) Ragtime
D) Gospel
- 38. What post-World War II compositional school, centered in Darmstadt, emphasized total serialism?
A) The Frankfurt School
B) The Bauhaus
C) The Darmstadt School
D) The Vienna Group
- 39. Which composer, a leader of the Darmstadt School, wrote 'Gruppen' for three orchestras?
A) Luigi Nono
B) Karlheinz Stockhausen
C) Iannis Xenakis
D) Pierre Boulez
- 40. Which composer's 'Symphony of Psalms' reflects a turn towards neoclassicism?
A) Sergei Prokofiev
B) Paul Hindemith
C) Igor Stravinsky
D) Béla Bartók
- 41. The book concludes by looking at the music of which Estonian composer known for his 'tintinnabuli' style?
A) Arvo Pärt
B) Giya Kancheli
C) Alfred Schnittke
D) John Tavener
- 42. According to Ross, what was a major cultural force that shaped American music after World War II?
A) The Great Depression
B) The Beat Generation
C) The Space Race
D) The Cold War
- 43. What is the name of the state-sponsored program in the USSR that demanded music be simple and optimistic?
A) The People's Style
B) Soviet Classicism
C) Proletarian Art
D) Socialist Realism
- 44. Which influential French composer and conductor was a leading proponent of total serialism?
A) Olivier Messiaen
B) Pierre Boulez
C) Francis Poulenc
D) Henri Dutilleux
|