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Topic: Trivia Quiz Final Round!  (Read 2734 times)

Offline ned

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Trivia Quiz Final Round!
on: May 09, 2003, 11:10:04 PM
Question 1.
Where is Chopin buried?
a. Montparnasse Cemetery.
b. Pere Lachaise  Cemetery.
c. At his childhood home near Warsaw.

Question 2.
Why was Chopin's funeral delayed for almost two weeks after his death?
a. The body was misplaced.
b. There was water damage in the church
c. They had to get special permission for female singers to perform at the service.

Question 3.
Who was the German writer/music critic who coined the nickname "Moonlight Sonata" for Beethoven's sonata op. 27 no.2?  The writer in question also wrote nasty criticisms of several Chopin pieces, he served three months in jail for writing a libelous satire of the popular soprano Henriette Sontag and he wrote some mediocre poems which Schubert turned into magnificent songs. Who is this jerk?

Question 4.
You have heard of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony and Mozart's Fortieth. What composer wrote a symphony  Number Zero (die Nullte Symphonie)?

Question 5.
In which of Chopin's larger works does the indication "dolce sfogato" appear? What does it mean and how would you apply it to performing the passage in question?

Question 6.
In which of Chopin's works does the indication "risvegliato" appear?  (Risvegliare=Italian=to wake up.)

Question 7.
Who gave the first performance of Scriabin's opus 55?
               

Offline amee

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Re: Trivia Quiz Final Round!
Reply #1 on: May 10, 2003, 12:02:05 AM
Question 1:

B.  He was buried in Pere Lachaise Cemetery.

Question 4:

Bruckner composed a "Symphony Number Zero".

Question 3:

Ludwig Rellstab wrote that it reminded him of the moon setting over Lake Lucerne.
"Simplicity is the highest goal, achievable when you have overcome all difficulties." - Frederic Chopin

Offline chopinetta

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Re: Trivia Quiz Final Round!
Reply #2 on: May 10, 2003, 12:59:34 AM
the questions have become harder!

amee beat me to no.1 which is the easiest... pere lachaise...

question 5. i guess it's barcarole... dolce sfogato (the great cleansing power??)

and in addition to what amee said on question three this is what rellstab wrote about chopin's op.10 studies..

"Those who have distorted fingers may put them right by practising these studies; but those who have not, should not play them, at least not without having a surgeon at hand."
"If I do not believe anymore in tears, it is because I see you cry." -Chopin to George Sand
"How repulsive this George Sand is! is she really a woman? I'm ready to doubt it."-Chopin on George Sand

Offline rachfan

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Re: Trivia Quiz Final Round!
Reply #3 on: May 10, 2003, 03:08:35 AM
Dolce sforgato might best be translated as "singing sweetly, softly and delicately in a light manner".  

In his lifetime Tausig visualized this barcarolle as a love scene in a gondola.  I've never seen it that way, rather as a ship leaving port for the open sea.

Having never formally studied the piece, but looking at the score, I would probably do the following:  1) Maintain the p dynamic in the RH, as no change is indicated by the composer; 2) play the LH at pp, as it is accompaniment, not the foreground there; 3) play both hands legato yet leggiero; 4) execute crecs. and decresc. following the "contours" of the flow and ebbing of the RH as it ascends and descends on the ocean swells; 5) probably lean back on the bench a little to make my arms lighter and floating on air during the execution; 6) apply the soft pedal throughout; 7) reluctantly follow Chopin's pedaling indications for sustaining pedal through whole measures with no pedal changes--including pedaling through the rests.  My sense is that if you are truly playing dolce sforgato, and despite the many chromatic passing tones in this short bridging section, you can perhaps get away with so much pedal, since much of the passagework is in the high registers of the keyboard, which is far more forgiving in this kind of pedaling, particularly with the LH being scrupulously muted.  I'd certainly try it (but didn't have a chance to do so before writing this!).  If on a modern piano it posed any major concern, I would certainly alter the pedal treatment to some extent.

In this programmatic barcarolle, note how this section begins at the Meno mosso where it seems the  wind has died down and the ship's momentum has slowed momentarily.  The RH passagework suggests the "luffing" or rippling of the sails as the sailors trim them to catch the wind from a different angle, and finally leads to the Tempo I reprise (where the winds pick up, fills the trimmed sails once again, and the ship confidently lurches forward into the swell).  How would I know this?  As a kid I spent a lot of time in a sailboat on the ocean getting the salt water spray as well as playing piano!  Thus, this transitional passage strikes me as that quiet, tentative moment as the ship tacts and is put on a new heading.  
Interpreting music means exploring the promise of the potential of possibilities.

Offline ned

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Re: Trivia Quiz Final Round!
Reply #4 on: May 11, 2003, 04:26:10 AM
RachFan: Great image! I was always baffled by the term "sfogato." My Italian dictionary says "sfogare" means to give vent. So just before the passage in question the Barcarolle had  clearly reached its point of repose, becalmed in the water. Then Aeolus creates a breeze (gives vent) that inflates the sails and we ride out into the open ocean as the main theme returns in forte octaves and full chords. I like it!!  Of course,  Chopin was never so programatic but so what.  

What about "risvegliato" Question 6? Where is Chopinetta our resident expert on the Mazurkas? That is a hint.

And the other question about Chopin? And Scriabin?

Offline chopinetta

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Re: Trivia Quiz Final Round!
Reply #5 on: May 11, 2003, 05:59:27 AM
the questions are too hard! i can't find anything that matches! where'd you get them anyway?!
"If I do not believe anymore in tears, it is because I see you cry." -Chopin to George Sand
"How repulsive this George Sand is! is she really a woman? I'm ready to doubt it."-Chopin on George Sand

Offline rachfan

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Re: Trivia Quiz Final Round!
Reply #6 on: May 12, 2003, 01:53:53 AM
On that Scriabin Op. 55 I have to cry "uncle".  I just cheated and looked in four repertoire guides and could find no reference to it.  Which piece is that?  :-/
Interpreting music means exploring the promise of the potential of possibilities.

Offline ned

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Re: Trivia Quiz Final Round!
Reply #7 on: May 12, 2003, 06:37:46 PM
RachFan:
I confess that Scriabin op 55 is a trick question! There is no op 55. Apparently Scriabin lost count and his works go from op 54 to op 56.

Unlike the Bruckner's Symphony No 0 which was discovered after his death.

Chopinetta:
These questions may seem difficult but you are doing very well. Trivia is by its nature stuff that the normal person would not know. I have made all of them up based on my years of reading and playing and talking to others.

To end the round:
Question 2: Chopin's funeral at the Madeleine Church in Paris was delayed because of the necessity to get official approval for women to perform. Chopin had requested the Mozart Requiem which calls for female singers.
Question 5: Risvegliato is in an early mazurka. Find it and you'll enjoy that mazurka and the others in op 6. I can't figure out why he would use that indication - "waking up."

Offline amee

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Re: Trivia Quiz Final Round!
Reply #8 on: May 12, 2003, 09:43:32 PM
Hehe!  That question on Scriabin's op 55 really stumped me!
"Simplicity is the highest goal, achievable when you have overcome all difficulties." - Frederic Chopin

Offline xpletus

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Re: Trivia Quiz Final Round!
Reply #9 on: May 14, 2003, 03:19:31 AM
Although his body is buried in Paris, his heart was buried (at his request) in Poland.

Offline rachfan

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Re: Trivia Quiz Final Round!
Reply #10 on: May 14, 2003, 03:47:35 AM
OK, OK.  So now the important question: Since I was the one who uncovered that bogus Op. 55, can I at least claim credit for solving that one?
Interpreting music means exploring the promise of the potential of possibilities.

Offline chopinetta

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Re: Trivia Quiz Final Round!
Reply #11 on: May 14, 2003, 05:56:43 AM
wow! i was about to say the body was misplaced. i know it's silly but it's what my dream told me! darn dream! i keep on dreaming of pianoforum! maybe i'm super addicted to it now.
"If I do not believe anymore in tears, it is because I see you cry." -Chopin to George Sand
"How repulsive this George Sand is! is she really a woman? I'm ready to doubt it."-Chopin on George Sand

Offline ned

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Re: Trivia Quiz Final Round!
Reply #12 on: May 14, 2003, 06:45:35 PM
RachFan:
I was thinking of making the Scriabin question "Sudden Death-Winner Take All."   In other words, the person who got it right would have been declared the WINNER of all three rounds even if that person had answered no other questions. But I decided that would be too much like real life!   RachFan, you probably would have won under those circumstances.
Ned

Offline ned

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Re: Trivia Quiz Final Round!
Reply #13 on: May 14, 2003, 06:51:04 PM
Xpletus:
You are right!
Name the church in Warsaw where Chopins's heart is immured.  For extra credit, what is the address? I was there but have forgotten.

Offline amee

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Re: Trivia Quiz Final Round!
Reply #14 on: May 14, 2003, 09:13:19 PM
The church is the Holy Cross church, and an urn containing Chopin's heart is kept inside one of its pillars.
"Simplicity is the highest goal, achievable when you have overcome all difficulties." - Frederic Chopin

Offline ned

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Re: Trivia Quiz Final Round!
Reply #15 on: May 14, 2003, 11:18:21 PM
Yes, but what street is the church on?

Offline chopinetta

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Re: Trivia Quiz Final Round!
Reply #16 on: May 16, 2003, 08:46:16 AM
are you planning to go there? i'm planning to end roses to Chopin's grave in pere lachaise. what do you think? they'll have to be plastic to live longer, i wan't them to be sealed with a kiss!
"If I do not believe anymore in tears, it is because I see you cry." -Chopin to George Sand
"How repulsive this George Sand is! is she really a woman? I'm ready to doubt it."-Chopin on George Sand

Offline ned

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Re: Trivia Quiz Final Round!
Reply #17 on: May 18, 2003, 04:06:25 AM
Chopin lovers should try to visit Chopin's tomb in Pere Lachaise.  On my first visit to Paris as a teenager, I slipped away from my group early one morning and crossed the city by metro.  The cemetery is vast --marble tombs and mausoleums, huge trees overhead. In the morning light it was unbearably beautiful and melancholy.  I finally found his tomb, simple white marble and then the monument to him. It was a very emotional moment. His music, his life, his greatness all flooded my consciousness. I stayed for more than an  an hour.

A real Chopin fanatic would also visit his childhood home about 20km outside Warsaw. It is a small country house - cheerful, lovely and very well maintained. The time I was there a group of German businessmen were being given a private tour. I was allowed to join them for a short recital by a Polish pianist of a few of his works.
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