Fractured Composers Trivia Quiz

Answer: Ralph Vaughan Williams

The only English composer on this list, Ralph Vaughan Williams was a prolific writer of symphonic and choral works and collector of English folk songs. His "Concerto for Tuba", written four years prior to his death in 1958, is a cornerstone of the modern tuba repertoire and his "Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis" and "Fantasia on 'Greensleeves'" enchant audiences to this day.

Answer: Beethoven

Few people, even today, are not familiar with at least some of the music of Ludvig van Beethoven. As many composers do, Beethoven's compositional career spanned three distinct periods. It is widely accepted that it was his third period that ushered in the Romantic era of western music.

Answer: Aaron Copland

One of the most recognized composers in American History, Aaron Copland was a master of the ballet. His Hoedown music from his ballet "Rodeo" is infamous for its inclusion in the "Beef! It's what's for dinner." commercials. "Billy the Kid" and "Appalachian Spring" remain staples of the American Symphonic repertoire. One of his most recognized pieces, however, was a short composition written for the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra during World War II.

This composition for the brass and percussion sections of the orchestra was profoundly called "Fanfare for the Common Man."

Answer: Franz Joseph Haydn

Haydn was a rarity. He was a talented composer who had great job as a court composer and musician for the wealthy Hungarian Esterházy family who was given the liberty to write what he wanted. Besides being Beethoven's most prominent mentor, Haydn's output of Symphonies (104) and string quartets (68) are unrivaled and to this day are staples of the classical music repertoire.

Answer: Rimsky-Korsakov

The youngest member of the famous "Russian Five," Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov is probably best known for his "Fight of the Bumblebee" from "Tsar Sultan," one of his many operas. Of his orchestral music, "Capriccio espagnol" and "Scheherazade" stand out as staples in the modern repertoire.

Answer: Richard Strauss

Best known for the opening music of Stanley Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey," Richard Strauss championed the late Romantic ideals of Richard Wagner. His tone poems such as "Also Sprach Zarathustra" and "Don Quixote" are are mainstays of concert halls today. His horn concertos are some of the most beloved works of the horn repertoire.

Answer: Edvard Grieg

One of only a handful of successful Scandinavian composers, Edvard Grieg is probably best known for the suite borne from his incidental music to the play "Peer Gynt." His "In The Hall of the Maintain King" from that suite has invaded pop culture on multiple fronts.

Answer: Hector Berlioz

Berlioz's "Symphonie Fantastique" is regularly performed in Halloween concerts across the western hemisphere and is one of the first great examples of programmatic music. Check out the Wikipedia article (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphonie_fantastique) for the story behind this work that is too bizarre to be anything but true.

Answer: Mussorgsky

Modest Mussorgsky is possibly the most interesting figure in Russian music history. Along with Rimsky-Korsakov, he is one of the most well known members of "The Russian Five." His music broke with western conventions and focused primarily on Russian history and folklore.

This is exemplified in his three most well-known compostions: the opera "Boris Godunov," the tone poem "Night on Bald Mountain" and the piano suite "Pictures at an Exhibition" (later orchestrated by French impressionist Maurice Ravel). Mussorgsky's fondness for alcohol led to his death at the age of 42.

Answer: Bela Bartok

Béla Bartók is credited as being the first ethnomusicologist. Obsessed with his Hungarian roots, he and his contemporary and friend Zoltán Kodály set out in 1908 to collect Hungarian folk tunes. Many of these tunes were used in his compositions, of which his "Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celeste" is among the most famous. Study of Bartók's music also reveals an obsession with the golden section or golden ration of 1.618. Other famous works of his include his opera "Bluebeard's Castle" and his six volumes of instructional piano pieces called "Mikrokosmos."


Thank you for taking the time to take this quiz and keep in mind that it takes me more than ten fingers to count my favorite composers, so keep an eye out for future editions of Fractured Composers.