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