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Atonality and Serialism
1. What characteristic of late 19th century symphonic music led the way to the atonality used by Schoenberg and his followers?
A
extreme chromaticism
B
polytonality
C
bitonality
D
use of medieval modes
2. Pierrot Lunaire, Schoenberg's most famous pre-war atonal piece, is characterized by all of the following except
A
use of the "Pierrot ensemble" (flute, piccolo, clarinet, bass clarinet, violin, viola, cello, and piano)
B
use of sprechstimme
C
use of grotesque images
D
use of romantic story taken from the commedia dell'arte
3. Schoenberg developed his 12-tone technique to:
A
to abandon the use of a tonal center
B
to organize sound in a clearly mathematical way
C
to extend the idea of atonality
D
all of the above
4. All of the following are characteristics of Schoenberg's Moses and Aron except:
A
use of solo voices in the orchestra pit
B
contrast of the characters of Moses and Aron
C
use of sprechstimme
D
the use of isolated tonal passages.
5. Berg's opera Wozzeck uses all of the following techniques except:
A
dances such as the waltz and the polka
B
material drawn exclusively from one tone row
C
jazz elements
D
use of the idea of the leitmotiv
6. Schoenberg's follower Anton Webern was known primarily for his operas:
A
True
B
False
7. All of the following are characteristic of the works of Messiaen except:
A
use of bird calls
B
strong influence of mus of the Catholic Church
C
use of additive rhythm
D
use of 12-tone technique
8. All of the following composers experimented with music written for non-traditional instruments except:
A
Edgard Varèse
B
Sergei Rachmaninoff
C
John Cage
D
Karlheinz Stockhausen
9. Penderecki's Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima
A
was chance music performed on synthesizer
B
employed tape loops was performed at the Brussel's World's Fair in 1958
C
is written for 52 stringed instruments played in non-traditional ways
D
alternates in meter between 5/8 and 9/8
10. The idea of indeterminacy shifts power from
A
the composer to the performer
B
the performer to the composer
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