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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. In what year was Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart born?

2. What Hungarian composer wildly gesticulated back and forth all over the keyboard when he played?

3. Paris Conservatoire rejected what thirteen-year old for being "too savage"?

4. Who married composer Robert Schumann, wore black in his memory, and was the authority on his music?

5. What Polish piano-player could not play two correct notes in a row and always played fortissimo?

Short Essay Questions

1. What relationship did Chopin share with Franz Liszt? How did they meet?

2. Describe the early life and career of Mozart. How old was he when he first performed musically?

3. What female students of Franz Liszt are described in Chapter XVII, The Children of the Abbe? What were their attributes?

4. How did Chopin feel about his contemporaries? Who did he consider the only two great composers?

5. What was the nickname of Sigismond Thalberg? Why?

6. What four pianists are described in Chapter VII, From Ireland to Bohemia? Who is noted as the best of the group?

7. Who was Saint-Saens? What were his musical contributions?

8. What historical period is related by the author in Chapter VI, In the Interim? Who instigated this transition?

9. How does the author describe Mozart's playing style in Chapter II, It Should Flow Like Oil?

10. When did John Field begin training on the piano? With whom?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe the biographies and works of Johann Hummel and Ignaz Moscheles. What does "bravura" style mean and who was known for it?

Essay Topic 2

Describe the two pianists presented in Chapter XIII, Two Sensitive Ones, Charles Henri Valentin Morhange and Adolf Henselt. Why did the author choose this title for the chapter?

Essay Topic 3

Describe the biography and works of Ludwig van Beethoven. What advancements was Beethoven responsible for in the style and technique of piano and composition?

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