Q.1
This composer lived from 1844 to 1908 and like many of his period and nationality, combined composition and other musical activities with a largely unrelated 'day job' as an Officer of the Russian Imperial Navy ~ though he was also involved as a band inspector, apparently. He is remembered (among much else) for one of the shortest and fastest pieces ever written, , but also for his enchanting music for and the wistful Hindu Song from (famously done-up in foxtrot form as by Tommy Dorsey and others). Who was he?
  • Mily Balakirev
  • Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov
  • Cesar Cui
  • Modest Mussorgsky
Q.2
Most of Russia's cultural contact with Europe necessarily came from, or through, the port at the 'top' of the Baltic. Which city is this?
  • Novgorod
  • Odessa
  • St Petersburg
  • Archangelsk
Q.3
Active early in, and towards the middle of, the 19th century, this pioneering 'nationalist' composer is probably best remembered for , the first Russian-language opera, whose overture is a fairly familiar classic further afield. Who was he?
  • Modest Mussorgsky
  • Mikhail Glinka
  • Anton Rubinstein
  • Aleksandr Borodin
Q.4
The first electronic musical instrument to be serially produced and gain widespread acceptance (and to have music created especially for it, as well as playing arrangements of previous work) was named after its Russian inventor. What is the name?
  • Theremin
  • Tchenepnin
  • Ondes Martenot
  • Moog
Q.5
Our next composer was Armenian by birth, but became one of the leading composers of the Soviet era, writing ballet and other music. His score for is deservedly familiar to many, and his disturbing waltz from is one of those pieces which once heard, is very hard to forget. He also wrote in many other genres including the symphony and various concertos. Who was he?
  • Aram Khachaturian
  • Dmitri Kabalevsky
  • Dmitri Shostakovich
  • Vladimir Askhenazy
Q.6
Originally a piano prodigy, this composer fell from grace with the Soviet regime not once but twice, yet was brought back into the Party after the death of Stalin. His output included no fewer than 15 symphonies. Who was he?
  • Dmitri Kabalevsky
  • Dmitri Shostakovich
  • Aram Khachaturian
  • Igor Stravinsky
Q.7
With which instrument was Mstislav Rostropovich particularly associated?
  • The violin
  • The accordion
  • The cello
  • The piano
Q.8
Sergei Rachmaminov was a formidable pianist and composer with three concertos to his name. Another of his works for piano and orchestra is a famous set of variations on a theme originally written for the violin ... by whom?
  • Corelli
  • Kreisler
  • Paganini
  • Vivaldi
Q.9
Which of these works by Tchaikovsky is the odd one out?
  • Eugene Onegin
  • The Nutcracker
  • Swan Lake
  • The Sleeping Beauty
Q.10
His avant-garde ballet burst into the world of classical music in 1913, with a Paris premiere at which near-riotous scenes in the auditorium seemed to echo the raw textures of the music and staging. This composer was a Russian by name and by birth, but his innovations were to resonate across the whole world of the arts in that century. Who was he?
  • Arnold Schoenberg
  • Igor Stravinsky
  • Sergei Tanayev
  • Nicolai Myaskovsky
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