Musical Flowers Trivia Quiz

Answer: Rhine

The opera in question is "Das Rheingold", and the ladies in question are the three Rhine-maidens, guardians of the Rhine-gold itself. By the end of Scene 1 the gold has been stolen from the river by the dwarf Alberich, and it is not until the closing bars of the fourth opera, "Gotterdammerung", that it is returned to the river from whence it came.

Answer: Frederick Delius

Although "Summer Night on the River" sounds quintessentially English, it was in fact written in France, while Delius (1862-1934) was staying in a villa near Grez, on the River Loing. While best-known for his evocative orchestral pieces, he also wrote several operas and a large choral work, "A Mass of Life" (1905).

Answer: Vltava

"Vltava" describes the course of the river of that name (also known in German as the Moldau) from its source to the point at which it joins the River Elbe. "Vysehrad" is a castle in Prague, "Sárka" is a legendary female warrior, and "Blaník" is a mountain.

The other two works in the set are "From Bohemia's Woods and Fields", which describes the Czech countryside, and "Tábor", which is named after a city.

Answer: Thames

George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) wrote his orchestral "Water Music" at the request of the English King George I, who wanted to hold a concert on the River Thames for himself and members of his court. The concert took place in on 17th July 1717, with the King and his friends sitting in the official Royal Barge while the musicians played on another vessel nearby.

The "Water Music" was subsequently published as a three separate suites, in F major, D major and G major.

Answer: Piano

The "Yellow River Concerto" is unusual in that its composition was a collaborative effort, put together by a committee of musicians apparently at the specific request of Madame Mao. It had its premiere in 1969 during the Chinese "Cultural Revolution" at a time when performances of most western classical music were strictly forbidden. Musically, it is derivative of such romantic composers as Rachmaninov and Tchaikovsky.

Answer: No

One of three artistic Sitwell siblings (the others being Edith and Osbert), in his poem Sacheverell twice refers to "the soft Brazilian air", making clear that he is referring to the Grande River that rises just north of Rio de Janeiro and flows due west before joining the Paranaiba River. The more famous Rio Grande flows from Colorado to the Gulf of Mexico, for part of its length forming part of the border between the USA and Mexico.

Constant Lambert's lively musical setting is for the unusual combination of piano, alto singer, choir and orchestra of strings, brass and percussion.

Answer: Curlew River

"Curlew River" is based on the Japanese Noh play Sumidagawa (Sumida River) by Juro Motomasa (1395-1431), and was first performed in Orford Church, Suffolk, in 1964. Although "Curlew River" transforms the story into a Christian parable, the setting follows such Noh theatre practices as having all the characters played by males, including its main protagonist, the Madwoman.

Answer: Mississippi

Florence Price was one of the first US women to achieve recognition as an orchestral composer, and completed four symphonies and three concertos. She composed her orchestral "Mississippi River Suite" in 1934, in which she uses a selection of familiar folk songs and spirituals to evoke the atmosphere of the river and those who live along its banks.

Answer: Edward Elgar

The "Severn Suite" is one of Elgar's last completed works, and was written for the 1930 UK National Brass Band Championship. The composer also arranged it for symphony orchestra, and it is also well known in an arrangement for organ by Ivor Atkins that has been published as Elgar's Second Organ Sonata.

Answer: Danube

"Waltz King" Johann Strauss II wrote his waltz "An der schönen blauen Donau", ("At the Beautiful Blue Danube"), in 1866. It was originally written as a choral piece, with words by one Joseph Wey, but it was the version which Strauss later made for orchestra alone that became one of his most popular and successful works.