- 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) Paris
B) Vienna
C) New York
D) London
- 3. What is the term for the atonal composition system developed by the Second Viennese School?
A) Twelve-tone technique
B) Chance music
C) Minimalism
D) Impressionism
- 4. Which American composer, known for his populist style, is discussed in the chapter 'The Art of Fear'?
A) John Cage
B) Charles Ives
C) Aaron Copland
D) George Gershwin
- 5. Under which totalitarian regime did Dmitri Shostakovich compose his controversial symphonies?
A) Fascist Italy
B) Nazi Germany
C) Francoist Spain
D) Soviet Union
- 6. What was the name of the Nazi exhibition that denounced modern art and music as 'degenerate'?
A) Volksmusik
B) Gleichschaltung
C) Die Endlösung
D) Entartete Kunst
- 7. Which French composer is associated with the musical style of Impressionism?
A) Hector Berlioz
B) Camille Saint-Saëns
C) Gabriel Fauré
D) Claude Debussy
- 8. What is the name of the method of composition using random elements, pioneered by John Cage?
A) Serialism
B) Polytonality
C) Microtonality
D) Chance operations
- 9. Which work by John Cage famously consists of four minutes and thirty-three seconds of silence?
A) Music of Changes
B) 4'33"
C) Sonatas and Interludes
D) Imaginary Landscape
- 10. Which American minimalist composer wrote 'Music for 18 Musicians'?
A) Terry Riley
B) Steve Reich
C) Philip Glass
D) John Adams
- 11. Which composer's work is central to the chapter 'The Pastoral'?
A) Jean Sibelius
B) Gustav Holst
C) Benjamin Britten
D) Ralph Vaughan Williams
- 12. What musical technique, involving the use of two or more keys simultaneously, is discussed in the book?
A) Sprechgesang
B) Atonality
C) Polytonality
D) Dodecaphony
- 13. The book discusses the impact of which technology on the dissemination of music in the 20th century?
A) Telephone
B) Telegraph
C) Cinema
D) Radio
- 14. Which composer is known for developing 'metric modulation'?
A) Elliott Carter
B) Ned Rorem
C) Leonard Bernstein
D) Samuel Barber
- 15. Which American composer, discussed by Ross, incorporated jazz elements into classical forms?
A) Duke Ellington
B) Aaron Copland
C) Leonard Bernstein
D) George Gershwin
- 16. What is the name of the electronic music studio in Cologne where Stockhausen worked?
A) IRCAM
B) Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center
C) BBC Radiophonic Workshop
D) WDR Studio for Electronic Music
- 17. Which composer wrote the 'War Requiem'?
A) William Walton
B) Michael Tippett
C) Benjamin Britten
D) Ralph Vaughan Williams
- 18. Which American composer is noted for developing a complex, dissonant style and living as an insurance executive?
A) Charles Ives
B) Aaron Copland
C) Leonard Bernstein
D) John Cage
- 19. What groundbreaking 1913 ballet caused a scandal with its primitive rhythms and dissonance?
A) Swan Lake
B) Petrushka
C) The Rite of Spring
D) The Firebird
- 20. Who composed the opera 'Wozzeck', a key work of atonal expressionism discussed in the book?
A) Alban Berg
B) Kurt Weill
C) Anton Webern
D) Gustav Mahler
- 21. Which composer is most associated with the twelve-tone technique or serialism?
A) Maurice Ravel
B) Béla Bartók
C) Arnold Schoenberg
D) Igor Stravinsky
- 22. What was the name of the artistic and cultural movement in Weimar Germany that influenced composers like Kurt Weill?
A) Dadaism
B) New Objectivity (Neue Sachlichkeit)
C) Symbolism
D) Futurism
- 23. Which American composer is known for using 'prepared piano' and ideas of chance in music?
A) George Gershwin
B) Steve Reich
C) John Cage
D) Philip Glass
- 24. Which Russian composer faced official condemnation from the Soviet government in 1948?
A) Igor Stravinsky
B) Sergei Prokofiev
C) Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
D) Dmitri Shostakovich
- 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) Music for 18 Musicians
D) It's Gonna Rain
- 26. What was the title of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's radio address program, which featured classical music?
A) Fireside Chats
B) National Radio Address
C) American Voices
D) The Oval Office Hour
- 27. Which composer led the BBC's Radiophonic Workshop and is known for the 'Doctor Who' theme?
A) Delia Derbyshire
B) Pierre Boulez
C) Karlheinz Stockhausen
D) Brian Eno
- 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) Sacred Serialism
D) Holy Minimalism
- 31. Which opera by Benjamin Britten is a central work in the book's discussion of post-war British music?
A) The Turn of the Screw
B) Billy Budd
C) Death in Venice
D) Peter Grimes
- 32. Which American composer wrote the politically charged opera 'The Mother of Us All' about Susan B. Anthony?
A) Gian Carlo Menotti
B) Virgil Thomson
C) Ned Rorem
D) Samuel Barber
- 33. Who is the author of 'The Rest is Noise'?
A) John Cage
B) Igor Stravinsky
C) Alex Ross
D) Leonard Bernstein
- 34. Which Strauss opera scandalized audiences with its depiction of sexuality and biblical subject matter?
A) Elektra
B) Salome
C) Der Rosenkavalier
D) Ariadne auf Naxos
- 35. What is the collective name for Schoenberg and his pupils Berg and Webern?
A) The Atonalists
B) The Vienna Circle
C) The Expressionists
D) The Second Viennese School
- 36. Which German composer remained in Germany during the Nazi regime, a subject of controversy discussed in the book?
A) Paul Hindemith
B) Richard Strauss
C) Kurt Weill
D) Arnold Schoenberg
- 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 Vienna Group
B) The Darmstadt School
C) The Frankfurt School
D) The Bauhaus
- 39. Which composer, a leader of the Darmstadt School, wrote 'Gruppen' for three orchestras?
A) Pierre Boulez
B) Karlheinz Stockhausen
C) Iannis Xenakis
D) Luigi Nono
- 40. Which composer's 'Symphony of Psalms' reflects a turn towards neoclassicism?
A) Béla Bartók
B) Paul Hindemith
C) Igor Stravinsky
D) Sergei Prokofiev
- 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 Cold War
B) The Beat Generation
C) The Great Depression
D) The Space Race
- 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) Proletarian Art
C) Soviet Classicism
D) Socialist Realism
- 44. Which influential French composer and conductor was a leading proponent of total serialism?
A) Olivier Messiaen
B) Francis Poulenc
C) Henri Dutilleux
D) Pierre Boulez
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