- 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) From Wagner to Radiohead
B) The Sound of Revolution
C) Listening to the Twentieth Century
D) A History of Modern Music
- 2. Which city was the center of a musical revolution in the early 20th century, as described by Ross?
A) New York
B) Paris
C) Vienna
D) London
- 3. What is the term for the atonal composition system developed by the Second Viennese School?
A) Chance music
B) Impressionism
C) Minimalism
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) Charles Ives
D) John Cage
- 5. Under which totalitarian regime did Dmitri Shostakovich compose his controversial symphonies?
A) Soviet Union
B) Francoist Spain
C) Nazi Germany
D) Fascist Italy
- 6. What was the name of the Nazi exhibition that denounced modern art and music as 'degenerate'?
A) Gleichschaltung
B) Entartete Kunst
C) Die Endlösung
D) Volksmusik
- 7. Which French composer is associated with the musical style of Impressionism?
A) Gabriel Fauré
B) Claude Debussy
C) Hector Berlioz
D) Camille Saint-Saëns
- 8. What is the name of the method of composition using random elements, pioneered by John Cage?
A) Microtonality
B) Polytonality
C) Serialism
D) Chance operations
- 9. Which work by John Cage famously consists of four minutes and thirty-three seconds of silence?
A) 4'33"
B) Sonatas and Interludes
C) Imaginary Landscape
D) Music of Changes
- 10. Which American minimalist composer wrote 'Music for 18 Musicians'?
A) Terry Riley
B) John Adams
C) Philip Glass
D) Steve Reich
- 11. Which composer's work is central to the chapter 'The Pastoral'?
A) Ralph Vaughan Williams
B) Gustav Holst
C) Benjamin Britten
D) Jean Sibelius
- 12. What musical technique, involving the use of two or more keys simultaneously, is discussed in the book?
A) Dodecaphony
B) Atonality
C) Polytonality
D) Sprechgesang
- 13. The book discusses the impact of which technology on the dissemination of music in the 20th century?
A) Radio
B) Telegraph
C) Telephone
D) Cinema
- 14. Which composer is known for developing 'metric modulation'?
A) Leonard Bernstein
B) Samuel Barber
C) Ned Rorem
D) Elliott Carter
- 15. Which American composer, discussed by Ross, incorporated jazz elements into classical forms?
A) Leonard Bernstein
B) Aaron Copland
C) George Gershwin
D) Duke Ellington
- 16. What is the name of the electronic music studio in Cologne where Stockhausen worked?
A) WDR Studio for Electronic Music
B) Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center
C) IRCAM
D) BBC Radiophonic Workshop
- 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) Charles Ives
C) John Cage
D) Leonard Bernstein
- 19. What groundbreaking 1913 ballet caused a scandal with its primitive rhythms and dissonance?
A) The Firebird
B) The Rite of Spring
C) Petrushka
D) Swan Lake
- 20. Who composed the opera 'Wozzeck', a key work of atonal expressionism discussed in the book?
A) Anton Webern
B) Kurt Weill
C) Alban Berg
D) Gustav Mahler
- 21. Which composer is most associated with the twelve-tone technique or serialism?
A) Arnold Schoenberg
B) Béla Bartók
C) Igor Stravinsky
D) Maurice Ravel
- 22. What was the name of the artistic and cultural movement in Weimar Germany that influenced composers like Kurt Weill?
A) Dadaism
B) Futurism
C) Symbolism
D) New Objectivity (Neue Sachlichkeit)
- 23. Which American composer is known for using 'prepared piano' and ideas of chance in music?
A) Philip Glass
B) Steve Reich
C) George Gershwin
D) John Cage
- 24. Which Russian composer faced official condemnation from the Soviet government in 1948?
A) Igor Stravinsky
B) Dmitri Shostakovich
C) Sergei Prokofiev
D) Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
- 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) The Oval Office Hour
B) American Voices
C) Fireside Chats
D) National Radio Address
- 27. Which composer led the BBC's Radiophonic Workshop and is known for the 'Doctor Who' theme?
A) Delia Derbyshire
B) Pierre Boulez
C) Brian Eno
D) Karlheinz Stockhausen
- 28. Who was the Hungarian composer known for his ethnomusicological work and use of folk melodies?
A) Béla Bartók
B) György Ligeti
C) Zoltán Kodály
D) Franz Liszt
- 29. What 1960s countercultural event featured performances by avant-garde composers like La Monte Young?
A) The Paris Exposition
B) The Fluxus movement
C) The Harlem Renaissance
D) Woodstock
- 30. What term describes the style of composers like Arvo Pärt, using simple harmonies and silence?
A) New Simplicity
B) Neo-Classical
C) Holy Minimalism
D) Sacred Serialism
- 31. Which opera by Benjamin Britten is a central work in the book's discussion of post-war British music?
A) Death in Venice
B) Billy Budd
C) The Turn of the Screw
D) Peter Grimes
- 32. Which American composer wrote the politically charged opera 'The Mother of Us All' about Susan B. Anthony?
A) Virgil Thomson
B) Ned Rorem
C) Samuel Barber
D) Gian Carlo Menotti
- 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) Elektra
B) Der Rosenkavalier
C) Salome
D) Ariadne auf Naxos
- 35. What is the collective name for Schoenberg and his pupils Berg and Webern?
A) The Second Viennese School
B) The Vienna Circle
C) The Atonalists
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) Richard Strauss
C) Paul Hindemith
D) Kurt Weill
- 37. The book discusses the influence of which African American art form on composers like Gershwin?
A) Gospel
B) Ragtime
C) Jazz
D) Blues
- 38. What post-World War II compositional school, centered in Darmstadt, emphasized total serialism?
A) The Bauhaus
B) The Vienna Group
C) The Darmstadt School
D) The Frankfurt School
- 39. Which composer, a leader of the Darmstadt School, wrote 'Gruppen' for three orchestras?
A) Iannis Xenakis
B) Pierre Boulez
C) Luigi Nono
D) Karlheinz Stockhausen
- 40. Which composer's 'Symphony of Psalms' reflects a turn towards neoclassicism?
A) Béla Bartók
B) Sergei Prokofiev
C) Igor Stravinsky
D) Paul Hindemith
- 41. The book concludes by looking at the music of which Estonian composer known for his 'tintinnabuli' style?
A) John Tavener
B) Alfred Schnittke
C) Arvo Pärt
D) Giya Kancheli
- 42. According to Ross, what was a major cultural force that shaped American music after World War II?
A) The Great Depression
B) The Cold War
C) The Space Race
D) The Beat Generation
- 43. What is the name of the state-sponsored program in the USSR that demanded music be simple and optimistic?
A) Proletarian Art
B) The People's Style
C) Socialist Realism
D) Soviet Classicism
- 44. Which influential French composer and conductor was a leading proponent of total serialism?
A) Olivier Messiaen
B) Pierre Boulez
C) Henri Dutilleux
D) Francis Poulenc
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