Question 1

Briefly explain Ligeti's innovative approach to pitch in Lux aeterna.

Accepted Answer

Ligeti's innovative approach to pitch in

Question 2

Electronically produced sound can be generated by a:

Accepted Answer

A)  synthesizer. 
B)  speaker. 
C)  voice. 
D)  piano. 
A)  synthesizer. 
B)  speaker. 
C)  voice. 
D)  piano.

Question 3

George Crumb's song cycle exploring the surreal poetry of Federico García Lorca is called:

Accepted Answer

A)  American Songbook. 
B)  Music for 18 Musicians. 
C)  Ancient Voices of Children. 
D)  Black Angels. 
A)  American Songbook. 
B)  Music for 18 Musicians. 
C)  Ancient Voices of Children. 
D)  Black Angels.

Question 4

The father of chance music is:

Accepted Answer

A)  John Cage. 
B)  Philip Glass. 
C)  John Adams. 
D)  Steve Reich. 
A)  John Cage. 
B)  Philip Glass. 
C)  John Adams. 
D)  Steve Reich.

Question 5

The form of "Hallelujah,I'm a Bum" is:

Accepted Answer

A)  through-composed. 
B)  strophic. 
C)  a round. 
D)  rondo. 
A)  through-composed. 
B)  strophic. 
C)  a round. 
D)  rondo.

Question 6

Highly intellectual,constructive tendencies led some composers of the postwar avant-garde to:

Accepted Answer

A)  leave some elements of music to chance. 
B)  simplify musical materials. 
C)  attempt to "serialize" rhythm, dynamics, and tone color. 
D)  turn back to Classical styles. 
A)  leave some elements of music to chance. 
B)  simplify musical materials. 
C)  attempt to "serialize" rhythm, dynamics, and tone color. 
D)  turn back to Classical styles.

Question 7

An example of chance music is:

Accepted Answer

A)  instructing the performer to place his or her hands inside the piano to strum or strike the strings. 
B)  throwing dice to determine the order of sections to be performed in a composition. 
C)  using a synthesizer to produce sounds. 
D)  using the twelve tones of the chromatic scale in a fixed order. 
A)  instructing the performer to place his or her hands inside the piano to strum or strike the strings. 
B)  throwing dice to determine the order of sections to be performed in a composition. 
C)  using a synthesizer to produce sounds. 
D)  using the twelve tones of the chromatic scale in a fixed order.

Question 8

How does John Adams's Doctor Atomic demonstrate characteristics of postmodernism?

Accepted Answer

John Adams's opera "Doctor Atomic," whic

Question 9

Who composed Lux aeterna?

Accepted Answer

A)  Arnold Schoenberg 
B)  Anton Webern 
C)  Alban Berg 
D)  György Ligeti 
A)  Arnold Schoenberg 
B)  Anton Webern 
C)  Alban Berg 
D)  György Ligeti

Question 10

Concert music composition today is dominated by:

Accepted Answer

A)  avant-garde modernism. 
B)  styles that arose in reaction to the avant-garde modernism of the 1950s and 1960s. 
C)  a return to Classical styles. 
D)  film music. 
A)  avant-garde modernism. 
B)  styles that arose in reaction to the avant-garde modernism of the 1950s and 1960s. 
C)  a return to Classical styles. 
D)  film music.

Question 11

Post-World War II composers were intent on:

Accepted Answer

A)  exploring the modernist music techniques of Debussy. 
B)  searching for new sound materials. 
C)  developing more possibilities with the standard Romantic orchestra. 
D)  discarding serialism in favor of Neoclassicism. 
A)  exploring the modernist music techniques of Debussy. 
B)  searching for new sound materials. 
C)  developing more possibilities with the standard Romantic orchestra. 
D)  discarding serialism in favor of Neoclassicism.

Question 12

Define minimalism and describe at least two characteristics of this style.

Accepted Answer

Minimalism is a design and lifestyle phi

Question 13

How does Reich's Music for 18 Musicians demonstrate characteristics of minimalism?

Accepted Answer

Reich's Music for 18 Musicians demonstra

Question 14

John Adams's On the Transmigration of Souls was written as:

Accepted Answer

A)  an opera about the first explosion of an atomic bomb. 
B)  a memorial for the events of September 11, 2001. 
C)  a song cycle about J. Robert Oppenheimer. 
D)  an opera about Richard Nixon. 
A)  an opera about the first explosion of an atomic bomb. 
B)  a memorial for the events of September 11, 2001. 
C)  a song cycle about J. Robert Oppenheimer. 
D)  an opera about Richard Nixon.

Question 15

The aria "Batter my heart" evokes the manner of a Baroque da capo aria through its use of:

Accepted Answer

A)  repeating sections marked off by orchestral ritornellos. 
B)  words taken from a poem. 
C)  static, almost unchanging harmonies. 
D)  three quatrains and a final couplet. 
A)  repeating sections marked off by orchestral ritornellos. 
B)  words taken from a poem. 
C)  static, almost unchanging harmonies. 
D)  three quatrains and a final couplet.

Question 16

Broadly speaking,when were the two phases of avant-garde modernism in the twentieth century? How did the second phase differ from the first?

Accepted Answer

The two phases of avant-garde modernism

Question 17

In Lux aeterna,Ligeti's use of pitches results in:

Accepted Answer

A)  a chantlike texture. 
B)  imitative polyphony. 
C)  pulsing harmonies. 
D)  slowly moving sound complexes. 
A)  a chantlike texture. 
B)  imitative polyphony. 
C)  pulsing harmonies. 
D)  slowly moving sound complexes.

Question 18

Contemporary composers such as Ellen Taaffe Zwilich who compose in styles reminiscent of late Romantic music may be called:

Accepted Answer

A)  post-avant-garde. 
B)  postmodern. 
C)  expressionist. 
D)  millennial. 
A)  post-avant-garde. 
B)  postmodern. 
C)  expressionist. 
D)  millennial.

Question 19

John Cage's 4' 33'' consists of:

Accepted Answer

A)  an atonal fugue based on a twelve-tone row. 
B)  any sounds occurring inside or outside the performance hall. 
C)  a combination of several different styles of jazz into one "serious" work. 
D)  chance music played by stringed instruments. 
A)  an atonal fugue based on a twelve-tone row. 
B)  any sounds occurring inside or outside the performance hall. 
C)  a combination of several different styles of jazz into one "serious" work. 
D)  chance music played by stringed instruments.

Question 20

Briefly describe how Ligeti has contributed new sonorities and new ways of dealing with time in twentieth-century music.

Accepted Answer

György Ligeti was a Hungarian composer k

Exam 23: The Late Twentieth Century

Briefly explain Ligeti's innovative approach to pitch in Lux aeterna.

Electronically produced sound can be generated by a:

George Crumb's song cycle exploring the surreal poetry of Federico García Lorca is called:

The father of chance music is:

The form of "Hallelujah,I'm a Bum" is:

Highly intellectual,constructive tendencies led some composers of the postwar avant-garde to:

An example of chance music is:

How does John Adams's Doctor Atomic demonstrate characteristics of postmodernism?

Who composed Lux aeterna?

Concert music composition today is dominated by:

Post-World War II composers were intent on:

Define minimalism and describe at least two characteristics of this style.

How does Reich's Music for 18 Musicians demonstrate characteristics of minimalism?

John Adams's On the Transmigration of Souls was written as:

The aria "Batter my heart" evokes the manner of a Baroque da capo aria through its use of:

Broadly speaking,when were the two phases of avant-garde modernism in the twentieth century? How did the second phase differ from the first?

In Lux aeterna,Ligeti's use of pitches results in:

Contemporary composers such as Ellen Taaffe Zwilich who compose in styles reminiscent of late Romantic music may be called:

John Cage's 4' 33'' consists of:

Briefly describe how Ligeti has contributed new sonorities and new ways of dealing with time in twentieth-century music.

Rhythm, Meter, and Tempo

Pitch,Dynamics,and Tone Color

Scales and Melody

Harmony, Texture, Tonality, and Mode

Musical Form and Musical Style

The Middle Ages

The Renaissance

The Early Baroque Period

Prelude: The Late Baroque Period

Baroque Instrumental Music

Baroque Vocal Music

Prelude: Music and the Enlightenment

The Symphony

Other Classical Genres

Beethoven

Prelude: Music after Beethoven: Romanticism

The Early Romantics

Romantic Opera

The Late Romantics

Prelude: Music and Modernism

Early Modernism

Modernism between the Wars

Music in America: Jazz and Beyond

Musical Notation

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