What Instrument Does That Person Play? Quiz

Answer: Rolf Smedvig

Rolf Smedvig is a virtuoso trumpeter and a member of the Empire Brass.

Jennifer Culp is the cellist for the Kronos Quartet, an ensemble specializing in the performance of less traditional pieces in the string quartet medium. Check out Ms. Culp's hypnotically sensuous solo in "Smoke Rises Across the River" from the quartet's album "You've Stolen My Heart".

Answer: Ian Anderson

Ian Anderson is famous for playing the flute with the rock band Jethro Tull. Pahud, Bennett, and Baker are usually associated with more traditional styles of flute playing.

Be sure to listen to Pahud's album "Paris", an excellent collection of 20th-century pieces for flute and piano by French composers, superbly and tastefully played by two masters. (Eric Le Sage is Pahud's accompanist on this disc.)

Answer: Devious instruments

The arsenal of devious instruments includes the tromboon, windbreaker, kazoo, foghorn, slide whistle, and lasso d'amore, to name a few. Truly these sounds must be heard to be believed. Try the P.D.Q. Bach albums "1712 Overture & Other Musical Assaults" and "WTWP Classical Talkity-Talk Radio" for a sampling.

Answer: violin

Few instruments have the power to transport a listener like the violin does. Its literature is vast (possibly second only to the piano) and its history is long and noble.

Don't miss Salvatore Accardo's recordings of Bruch's violin concertos; these make for a sublime listening experience indeed. Another must-listen is Joshua Bell's "Violin Favorites" - a two-disc set featuring character pieces, showpieces, and miniatures for violin and piano by Kreisler, Brahms, Paganini, Sarasate, Wieniawski, and others.

Answer: Larry Combs

Larry Combs (the odd one out here) is a brilliant clarinetist.

For a great sampling of concertos for solo horn, look for Barry Tuckwell's "Horn Concertos" - a two-disc set with the orchestral parts played by the English Chamber Orchestra and the Academy of St Martin in the Fields.

As lovely as they are on their own, horns seem to sound better (to me at least) in twos, threes, or fours. I recommend the "Konzertstück (Concert Piece) for Four Horns and Orchestra" by Robert Schumann, Beethoven's quintet H.19 (three horns, oboe, and bassoon) and sextet Op.81b (two horns and string quartet), and Telemann's E-flat concerto for two horns from "Tafelmusik".

Answer: Harpsichord

Mr. Leonhardt's recording of selected harpsichord sonatas by Domenico Scarlatti is definitely worth a listen. As he is also an organist, I strongly recommend the album "Historic Organs of Austria" - it is a favorite in my collection.

Ton Koopman and Rinaldo Alessandrini are two other masters of the keyboard who are much admired for their powerful and informed interpretations of ancient masterworks for harpsichord and organ.

Answer: accordion

Mr. Yankovic's "My Baby's in Love with Eddie Vedder" from the "Running with Scissors" album features some of the coolest rock accordion playing I have ever heard, and who can forget his spirited accordion rendition of "Lasagna" - a hilarious parody of the classic "La Bamba"?

Answer: Stan Getz

If you didn't know Mr. Getz was a sax man, you might have gotten this question right anyway through the process of elimination - if you knew that Miles Davis played the trumpet, Thelonius Monk was a pianist, and Wes Montgomery was a jazz guitar master.

Mr. Getz is often associated with the bossa nova ("new trend") movement of Brazilian jazz of the 1960s. Stan's discography is enormous, but if you can find his instrumental version of the song "Outra Vez" ("Once Again") by Antonio Carlos Jobim, that's a good place to start exploring his magically expressive sound and engaging musical genius.

Answer: Maurice Andre

Kathryn Stott, John de Lancie, and Blandine Verlet - the incorrect responses - play the piano, oboe, and harpsichord, respectively.

A fine example of Mr. André's skill is his recording of Hummel's E-flat concerto with the Ensemble Orchestral de Paris. Ludwig Güttler is another excellent performer of early trumpet concertos, whose recordings of trumpet and hunting horn masterworks by lesser-known Baroque and Classic composers are as educational as they are a delight to listen to.

Answer: Piano

To experience a "lighter side" of Beethoven, try Brendel's three-disc set "Beethoven: Variations and Vignettes for Piano". The performance and entertaining variety of the literature are excellent, that is, if you are willing to accept the unfortunately less-than-ideal audio quality on this recording.