Classical Quiz

Gyorgy Kurtag?

1) More from another interview ...

"I am very familiar with [both serious music and the light-music sector]. I spent many years earning a livelihood in every branch of musical entertainment. I was an excellent be-bop musician, but I could also play all the carnival hits. Then I toured ... with a magician and used to improvise while he was doing his conjuring tricks, which I was also good at concealing. If I am at a party and go to the piano I can get everybody dancing and having a good time with my playing."

2) Second hint ..

He has written piano music and also a string quartet. The string quartet is very difficult to perform for technical reasons and I think there has only ever been one performance.

James H.

Forgot to mention : its not Kurtag

Stockhausen?

Yes its Stockhausen.

Here is the section of the original interview ...

[Its from a magazine called Seconds -- I can give the URL if you need it]

SECONDS: You wrote your graduate thesis on Bartok's Sonata For Two Pianos And Percussion, and for awhile you seemed to be interested in Bartok.

STOCKHAUSEN: Well, for my state examination as a pianist, I played several works of Bartok. I liked his work very much, and I had heard several performances of the Sonata For Two Pianos And Percussion during the time of my studies, and I devoted an entire year to this work, analyzing every note.

SECONDS: It makes sense that you would be interested in Bartok, if you were focused on piano.

STOCKHAUSEN: Yes. He was obviously an excellent pianist, and performed together with his wife.

SECONDS: You then played piano with a magician, Adrion.

STOCKHAUSEN: Oh, that was a part-time job. From 1947 until 1951 I played almost every night in clubs and bars in the city of Cologne, or sometimes even in the afternoons in cafs to make a living. And towards the end of my studies, in 1950, a magician came to the student's dormitory and he asked me to improvise, because I was rather famous in the city of Cologne amongst the students and younger musicians for improvisation, and I improvised for him and then he accepted my collaboration. We travelled through all of Germany, and he performed his magic and I played the piano, improvising according to his different tricks.

SECONDS: You were following his movements?

STOCKHAUSEN: Oh yes. And very often covering his movements. So people didn't notice what was happening.

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The item is a interview entitled ...

Karlheinz Stockhausen By David Paul
Orginally published in SECONDS #44 ©1997

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The string quartet is the Helicopter Quartet which is technically difficult to perform since the 4 performers are each in their own helicopter.

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YOUR TURN !!

James H.

Which conductor has won the most Grammy Awards of any artist in any genre?

Georg Solti.

Vuk.

That wasn't too hard. Your turn, Vuk.

In which classical work does a performer relieve himself on stage (acted out, of course).

Vuk.

Wozzeck in Berg`s synonymous opera urinates when a specimen is taken at the doctors; not all performances though stick to this original version and have him "spit" instead.

Franz

[This message was edited by Franz K on SUNDAY 08 April 2001 at 15:57.]

Frank.

Very good try, but I was thinking of the sort of relief achieved by friction.

Vuk.

Ballets Russes

I'm tempted to say the Rite of Spring, but to be honest I can't recall any of the Ballets Russes productions in which this occurs. It would probably come as a bit of a surprise to Diaghilev.

Ross

French.

Puck in a midsummernightsdream?

Franz

Takes place in the afternoon.

Vuk.

L'apres-midi d'un faune, peut-etre?

cheers

Nigel

Yes! Go ahead Nigel.

Vuk.

Which Spanish composer's music is very often played on an instrument he never wrote music for, and whose career was ended by the Germans?

cheers

Nigel

Isaac Albeniz, whose piano music is probably performed more often as guitar transcriptions.

Cheers,

John Schmidt
"90% of everything is crud" - Theodore Sturgeon

not Albeniz. I don't think the Germans ended his career.

cheers

Nigel

Hold on a minute here, guys. I have the original Nijinksy choreography of l'Apres-Midi d'un Faune on a video containing reproductions of the original Ballets Russes stagings of this and a few other ballets (on Teldec Video, highly recommended BTW). I don't recall at any point seeing the faune choke the monkey (entrangle le singe). This is not something that is likely to have passed unnoticed.

Ross

Then it must be Enrique Granados, whose piano compositions are also probably heard more often in guitar transcriptions than in the original piano versions. He died when the ship he was on was torpedoed by a German submarine

Cheers,

John Schmidt
"90% of everything is crud" - Theodore Sturgeon

Your go.

cheers

Nigel

A composer, being somewhat superstitious and also aware that both Beethoven and Schubert died shortly after composing their ninth symphonies, refused to call the work following his eighth symphony, a symphony in all but name, his ninth symphony. Who is the composer, and what is the work?

Cheers,

John Schmidt
"90% of everything is crud" - Theodore Sturgeon