CHAPTER 40 Musical Diaries: Hensel and Programmatic Piano
Music
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. Which of the following best describes the role of women in nineteenth-century music?
a. None pursued a career in music.
b. Women were leaders in innovative changes of style.
c. The piano provided women with a socially acceptable performance outlet.
d. All answers shown here.
2. Which of the following was a noted woman composer of the Romantic era?
a. Carolyne Sayn-Wittgenstein c. George Sand
b. Clara Schumann d. Nadezhda von Meck
3. Which of the following women organized salons featuring music by her brother?
a. Carolyne Sayn-Wittgenstein c. Clara Schumann
b. Nadezhda von Meck d. Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel
4. Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel was discouraged from pursuing a career as a composer because
a. she was a woman. c. she had no talent.
b. she was primarily a performer. d. all of the answers shown here.
5. Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel’s output is dominated by ________ music.
a. piano music and chamber c. Lieder and orchestra
b. Lieder and chamber d. Lieder and piano
6. Which of the following composed the piano cycle The Year?
a. Frédéric Chopin c. Clara Schumann
b. Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel d. Franz Liszt
7. Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel wrote her cycle The Year for
a. voice. c. piano.
b. orchestra. d. choir.
8. The manuscript for Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel’s September: At the River, from The Year, has poetic lines by
a. Wilhelm Hensel. c. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.
b. Heinrich Heine. d. Friedrich Schiller.
9. Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel’s September: At the River, from The Year, is in ________ form.
a. A-B-A c. rondo
b. sonata-allegro d. theme and variations
10. How does Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel’s The Year reach a level of achievement beyond that of her brother Felix?
a. It develops one theme throughout the twelve pieces.
b. It is a large-scale work unified by musical and extramusical links.
c. It demands greater virtuosity than Felix’s works.
d. It achieved great popularity when it was published.
11. Which of the following are crucial to the success of both new and established musical works?
a. composers c. teachers
b. performers d. All answers shown here.
12. Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel was raised in
a. Berlin, Germany. c. London, England.
b. Paris, France. d. Venice, Italy.
13. The story of ________ enhances our modern-day understanding of the challenges faced by women musicians in the Romantic era.
a. Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel c. Hildegard of Bingen
b. George Sand d. Barbara Strozzi
14. Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel’s father ________ career as a composer.
a. discouraged her from pursuing a c. championed her
b. encouraged her to pursue a d. promoted her
15. Which nineteenth-century novel describes the rigid social expectations of women?
a. Pride and Prejudice
b. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
c. September: At the River
d. To the Manor Born
16. Who wrote Pride and Prejudice?
a. Jane Austen c. Amy Beach
b. Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel d. George Sand
17. Felix Mendelssohn, a renowned composer and conductor, was Fanny’s
a. brother. c. husband.
b. father. d. cousin.
18. September: At the River is best described as a
a. song cycle. c. sonata.
b. character piece. d. motet.
19. During which century did women make great strides in establishing careers as professional musicians?
a. nineteenth c. sixteenth
b. eighteenth d. seventeenth
20. What instrument provided women of the middle and upper classes with a socially acceptable performance outlet?
a. violin c. guitar
b. piano d. flute
21. What was a socially acceptable role for women musicians during the nineteenth century?
a. soloist c. composer
b. teacher d. virtuoso
22. Teaching was a socially acceptable role for women musicians during the ________ century.
a. nineteenth c. seventeenth
b. eighteenth d. sixteenth
23. The ________ played an important role in the domestic life of women during the nineteenth century.
a. piano c. flute
b. guitar d. oboe
24. The manuscript for Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel’s The Year includes paintings by
a. Wilhelm Hensel. c. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.
b. Heinrich Heine. d. Friedrich Schiller.
25. Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel organized ________ featuring music by her brother.
a. salons c. concerts
b. concert tours d. poetry readings
1. During the nineteenth century, women became increasingly accepted as piano teachers.
2. Nineteenth-century society saw a few women make careers as professional musicians.
3. Despite her gender, Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel was encouraged by her family to pursue a career in music.
4. Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel’s cycle The Year is her only symphonic poem.
5. Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel is known for her large-scale orchestral compositions.
6. Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel’s cycle The Year has extramusical connections.
7. Teaching is crucial to the success of new and established musical works.
8. Women made great strides during the nineteenth century in establishing careers as professional musicians and public advocates for
musical innovation.
9. The flute provided women of the middle and upper classes during the nineteenth century with a socially acceptable performance
outlet.
10. Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel was born into a lower-class family in Berlin.
11. The piano played an important role in the domestic life of women during the nineteenth century.
12. Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel was a composer whose works were long neglected.
13. Clara Wieck Schumann was a talented performer and composer.
14. Very few women served as patrons of music during the nineteenth century.
15. Pride and Prejudice depicts the role of music in the life of nineteenth-century women.
ESSAY
1. Describe the different roles that women played in music during the nineteenth century. Which roles were socially acceptable? Cite
examples of successful women musicians from this era.
2. Describe the nineteenth-century gender stereotypes that impacted the musical career of Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel.
3. Describe how nineteenth-century artists and authors portrayed the role of women in terms of music.
4. Describe how nineteenth-century artists and authors portrayed the role of women in terms of music.
