Chapter 39: Absolutely Classic: Brahms and the Nineteenth-Century Symphony
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. Which of the following is a type of absolute music?
a. incidental music c. the concert overture
b. the symphony d. the symphonic poem
2. The most important organizing element in absolute music is:
a. form. c. programmatic images.
b. thematic transformation. d. improvisation.
3. By the Romantic era, concerts had moved from:
a. the opera house to the church.
b. the aristocratic palace to the church.
c. the aristocratic palace to the public concert hall.
d. the public concert hall to the aristocratic palace.
4. The first movement of a Romantic era symphony generally retains the basic elements of _____
form.
a. theme-and-variations c. minuet or scherzo
b. sonata-allegro d. rondo
5. Which movement of a symphony is traditionally the slowest?
a. the first movement c. the third movement
b. the second movement d. the fourth movement
6. Which movement of a Romantic symphony is most likely to be strongly rhythmic and dancelike?
a. sonata-allegro c. scherzo
b. theme and variations d. none of the answers shown here
7. How many movements does a typical Romantic symphony contain?
a. one c. three
b. two d. four
8. The standard four-movement structure of a Romantic symphony is:
a. slow-fast-slow-dance. c. fast-slow-dance-fast.
b. fast-fast-slow-fast. d. slow-dance-fast-fast.
9. Brahms was recognized as a future leader of absolute music by:
a. Hector Berlioz. c. Joseph Joachim.
b. Robert Schumann. d. Franz Liszt.
10. Which young composer did Robert and Clara Schumann take into their home?
a. Wagner c. Brahms
b. Liszt d. Mendelssohn
11. The death of ______ inspired Brahms to write his German Requiem.
a. his mother c. Beethoven
b. Clara Schumann. d. Robert Schumann
12. Brahms wrote _____ symphonies.
a. four c. nine
b. five d. 104
13. Which of the following was a major composer of Lieder?
a. Berlioz c. Brahms
b. Chopin d. all of the answers shown here
14. Brahms is often described as a(n) _____ because of his use of forms of the Classical masters.
a. traditionalist c. nationalist
b. Impressionist d. Romanticist
15. Which of the following characterizes Brahms’s Symphony No. 3?
a. Romantic structure c. programmatic images
b. continuous mood d. cyclic unity
16. The structure of the third movement of Brahms’s Symphony No. 3 is:
a. binary. c. rondo.
b. ternary. d. theme and variations.
17. Which of the following best describes the style of the third movement of Brahms’s Symphony No.
3?
a. a stately minuet c. a melancholic waltz
b. a fast scherzo d. a funeral dirge
18. The opening theme of the third movement of Brahms’s Symphony No. 3 is first played by the:
a. cellos. c. oboes.
b. French horns. d. full orchestra.
19. Brahms collected ________ throughout his life.
a. folk songs and folk sayings c. stamps
b. butterflies d. none of the answers shown here
TOP: Brahms MSC: Factual
TRUE/FALSE
1. In absolute music, musical ideas are organized without the aid of external images provided by a
program.
2. Classical forms were abandoned during the Romantic era.
3. The symphony was a new genre in the Romantic era.
4. The typical Romantic symphony has four movements.
5. The fourth movement of a Romantic symphony has the dimension and character designed to
balance the first movement.
6. Robert Schumann recognized Brahms as the great innovator who would move music beyond the
Classical forms.
7. At an early age, Brahms developed a lifelong affection for folk music.
8. Brahms’s symphonies use a Romantic harmonic idiom but are Classical in form.
9. Brahms’s Symphony No. 3 is a program symphony.
10. The third movement of Brahms’s Symphony No. 3 in F Major is a rollicking scherzo.
ESSAY
1. Discuss how Romantic composers pushed against and worked within the existing formal
boundaries of the symphony during the nineteenth century.
ANS:
Answers will vary.
PTS: 1 DIF: 1 REF: Essentials: pp. 216–217
TOP: Romantic Symphony MSC: Applied
2. Discuss Brahms’s mixture of Classical and Romantic qualities in his Symphony No. 3.
ANS:
Answers will vary.
PTS: 1 DIF: 2 REF: Essentials: pp. 216–217
TOP: Brahms Symphony MSC: Applied