CHAPTER 42 Sounding Literature: Orchestral Program Music by
Mendelssohn and Grieg
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. The concept of a program overture had its origin in the
a. program symphony. c. symphonies of Beethoven.
b. concert overture. d. opera overture.
2. Music written for plays, generally consisting of an overture and a series of pieces to be performed between acts, is called
a. incidental music. c. a program symphony.
b. background music. d. a symphonic poem.
3. Had movies been invented in the nineteenth century, to which genre of program music would film soundtracks be most similar?
a. program symphony c. concert overture
b. incidental music d. symphonic poem
4. A one-movement piece of program music for orchestra that, through several contrasting sections, develops a poetic idea or suggests a
scene or mood is called
a. a program symphony. c. a symphonic poem.
b. an overture. d. incidental music.
5. Which of the following composers created the symphonic poem?
a. Berlioz c. Mendelssohn
b. Liszt d. Tchaikovsky
6. Which of the following characterizes a symphonic poem?
a. It has one movement. c. It can create a mood.
b. It can suggest a scene. d. All answers shown here.
7. Another name for the symphonic poem is
a. concerto overture. c. program symphony.
b. tone poem. d. musical poem.
8. Which of the following are types of orchestral program music?
a. concerto, symphonic poem
b. symphonic poem, string quartet
c. incidental music, sonata
d. program symphony, incidental music
9. Nationalistic composers expressed their nationalism by
a. employing songs and dances from their home countries in their works.
b. borrowing exotic styles from other countries.
c. writing absolute music.
d. all of the answers shown here.
10. Which of the following works suggest musical nationalism?
a. Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsodies c. Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5
b. Chopin’s sonatas d. Mozart’s Don Giovanni
11. The “Mighty Five” were composers from
a. Russia. c. Scandinavia.
b. Bohemia. d. Germany.
12. Which of the following are Russian composers?
a. Borodin, Rimsky-Korsakov, Tchaikovsky
b. Tchaikovsky, Borodin, Smetana
c. Smetana, Tchaikovsky, Elgar
d. Tchaikovsky, Borodin, Elgar
13. Which composer is from Finland?
a. Grieg c. Musorgsky
b. Sibelius d. Elgar
14. Edvard Grieg was a composer from
a. Spain. c. Sweden.
b. England. d. Norway.
15. Which of the following describes Grieg’s music?
a. It is lyrical.
b. Grieg was influenced by folk music and dances.
c. Grieg exceled at composing piano miniatures.
d. All answers shown here.
16. Grieg collaborated with the playwright
a. Henrik Ibsen. c. George Bernard Shaw.
b. Anton Chekhov. d. Oscar Wilde.
17. Grieg’s Peer Gynt is
a. a symphonic poem. c. incidental music.
b. a program symphony. d. an opera.
18. Morning Mood from Grieg’s Peer Gynt depicts
a. the sunrise.
b. the romantic love of Peer Gynt and Ingrid.
c. a troll.
d. Peer Gynt’s love for his mother.
19. What is the form of Grieg’s Morning Mood ?
a. sonata form c. rondo
b. variations d. A-B-A
20. Which of the following characterizes Grieg’s In the Hall of the Mountain King?
a. two prominent themes c. an atmosphere of splendor
b. a huge crescendo and accelerando d. pastoral instruments
21. Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream was inspired by a play written by
a. Ibsen. c. Shaw.
b. Shakespeare. d. Keats.
22. Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream is an example of
a. a concert overture. c. a program symphony.
b. incidental music. d. a symphonic poem.
23. Where was Mendelssohn born?
a. Germany c. Hungary
b. France d. Italy
24. Who helped revive Bach’s choral music during the nineteenth century?
a. Grieg c. Liszt
b. Mendelssohn d. Brahms
25. Which best describes Mendelssohn and his music?
a. the leading figure of musical Romanticism
b. dedicated to preserving the tradition of Classical forms
c. worshipped the music of Liszt and Berlioz
d. a musical progressive in an age of tradition
TRUE/FALSE
1. Incidental music for a play is generally considered to be absolute music.
2. The symphonic poem was developed during the nineteenth century.
3. The growth of nationalism became a decisive force within the Romantic movement.
4. Nationalism found natural expression in music, among other arts.
5. Smetana was a leading figure of the “Mighty Five” in Russia.
6. Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov was a Russian composer.
7. Edvard Grieg was a prominent composer from Norway.
8. Grieg composed no large-scale works in the Classical tradition.
9. The character Peer Gynt was an innocent young man caught up in a magical world.
10. The music for Grieg’s Peer Gynt Suite No. 1 is drawn from incidental music for a play.
11. Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet is an example of a program overture.
12. Incidental music was influential on the development of musical accompaniment to silent film.
13. Felix Mendelssohn created the symphonic poem.
14. The symphonic poem is also called the tone poem.
15. Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream is an example of incidental music.
16. A Midsummer Night’s Dream is the title of a play written by Shakespeare.
17. Felix Mendelssohn was the conductor at the Conservatory of Leipzig.
18. Mendelssohn was dedicated to preserving the tradition of Classical forms.
19. Mendelssohn wrote the now famous “Wedding March.”
20. The Nazis outlawed some music by Chopin and Smetana because of the powerful symbolism behind their works.
1. How did nineteenth-century composers express nationalism in their music? Cite several examples in your response.
2. How does the music of Grieg’s Peer Gynt Suite No. 1 reflect the action of Ibsen’s play?
3. Describe the various genres of program music developed during the nineteenth century. Provide examples.
4. Compare the programmatic elements in the two works by Mendelssohn and Grieg.