Q.1
Before he turned 30 he had built a new instrument of his own and was exploring its musical possibilities: what instrument was this?
  • An electronic organ
  • An analogue synthesiser
  • A computerised guitar
  • A remote-controlled grand piano
Q.2
Although Adams was probably destined for musical greatness, it's rather nice to confirm whereabouts in the US he grew up, with its appropriate name. In what town did he attend high-school?
  • Concord, New Hampshire
  • Harmony, Missouri
  • Symphony, Maine
  • Tunesville, Ohio
Q.3
How did Adams celebrate his 60th birthday?
  • Taking 'a short ride in a fast machine'
  • Conducting his own work with the American Composers Orchestra
  • Hiking and fishing in the Adirondacks
  • On tour with his chamber ensemble in the Far East
Q.4
Adams is clearly comfortable writing for large forces (e.g. an orchestra) but also for much smaller ones such as just two pianists. Often he will base a complete piece on a single simple musical idea that he explores through very gentle, gradual repeated steps ~ like (dare we say) a much less insistent version of Beethoven with his opening movement around 200 years ago. What is the musicological label for this mode of composition?
  • Simplicity
  • Minimalism
  • Frugality
  • Economusic
Q.5
In 2003 Adams was awarded a particularly prestigious prize: which was it?
  • A Pulitzer Prize
  • A Nobel Prize
  • The President's Congressional Medal
  • The 'Oscar' for Best Film Score
Q.6
Adams has given many of his compositions unusual titles that whet people's curiosity. Only ONE of the following is NOT a genuine Adams work: which one?
  • Hallelujah Junction
  • Freeway Butterfly
  • I was looking at the ceiling and then I saw the sky
  • Gnarly Buttons
Q.7
What was Adams' original instrument, as a performer in his own right?
  • Saxophone
  • Clarinet
  • Viola
  • Trombone
Q.8
Adams' middle name is the same as the surname of a former US President: which one?
  • Nixon
  • Carter
  • Reagan
  • Coolidge
Q.9
Adams has never flinched from writing music (opera and other works) referring to raw and recent historical events. What was the title of his opera about the later-disgraced US president Richard Nixon?
  • Tricky Dickie
  • Dickie goes to Hollywood
  • Nixon in China
  • The Watergate Tapes
Q.10
Which of these other topics is NOT (so far as we know) the basis for a significant composition by John Adams?
  • The liberation of the Nazi extermination camps at the end of World War 2
  • The '9/11' New York terrorist attacks and their victims
  • The killing of a handicapped hi-jack hostage by terrorists
  • The building of the first atom bomb/s
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