Trivia Quiz-Round Two

[ned]

Question One.   The four-bar Lento introduction to the "Winter Wind" etude was added by Chopin after he had completed the piece --- at the urging of one of his friends. Who was that friend?

Question Two.   Our "mystery man" today started his career as an accountant; he was a correspondent for Karl Marx's newspaper; he was jailed for political activities; and he was later the director of the London branch of a Swiss bank.  He also wrote poems, one of which was set as a song by Franz Liszt and as a piano piece.  Name the Liszt piece and the mystery man behind the piece.

Question Three: The indication " appassionato" appears once and only once in all of Chopin's mazurkas. Where?

Question Four: The famous chord at the opening of Wagner's Tristan and Isolde   f-b-d sharp-g sharp   can also be found in a Chopin Ballade and a Beethoven piano sonata. Same register. (Different harmonic function of course).  Where??

Question Five: A famous 20th century political figure once said the following about a particular piano piece: "I could listen to it every day. Astounding, superhuman music!"    Name the man and the piece.

[chopinetta]

question 3:


Question Three: The indication " appassionato" appears once and only once in all of Chopin's mazurkas. Where?  

it is used in mazurka opus 33 no. 1. the marking appassionato appears only in this mazurka.

[ned]

I have been aksed to give the remaining answers.  Either this Round is too hard, or the members are  preoccupied with other topics - like who is hot and good-looking.

Q1. The lento intro to the Winter Wind was at the urging of Chopin's friend and Paris roommate Dr Aleksander Hoffmann. See Tad Szulc's book "Chopin in Paris." The intro is played forte  by Josef Lhevinne in his recording, which is perhaps the best of all. When I did that, my teacher told me not to. Yes, sir! He still hasn't commented on the fact that I do the Lhevinne trick of playing the concluding scale pasage with the hands TWO octaves apart. It produces a very brilliant sound.

Q2. The man is Ferdinand Freiligrath. The Liszt piece is LIEBESTRAUM No 3.

Q3. Chopinetta is right again!!

Q4. The Tristan Chord is the most analyzed chord in music theory. It appears in Measure/Bar 36 of Beethoven Sonata in E flat op 31 no 3. A conductor tipped me off about this. Play the chord and then continue with the Tristan overture instead of Beethoven. It will startle your teacher or whoever.
The chord also appears in the left hand in Meas/Bar 124 of the Chopin Ballade in G minor op 23. No pranks here please. The music is too good.

Q5. It was Lenin, first leader of the Soviet Union, who said that Beethoven's Appassionata Sonata was "superhuman" music (niechelovecheskaya muzyka).

Chopinetta wins Rond Two. Amee swept Round One.  Chopinetta got a perfect score on the Chopin questions that she requested. Amee has a slight lead.  

[rachfan]

Yes, Chopinetta definitely got the Gold Star this time around.  That was a tough quiz!!!  On the question concerning the Appassionata, I would have guessed Jimmy Carter (who I think was the only president in somewhat recent history who was a classical music buff).  Imagine my embarrassment had I ever posted that!