Quiz: Mystery scores

[lukeottevanger]

none of your guesses are right

the first one is a powerful piece, the second one a famous piece, the third is by a composer who should be a bit more well-known

You see, your italicised powerful makes me think of Kraft - that would be a very strong candidate, I'd have thought. But you said it wasn't Lindberg....

As for the second one, I am kicking myself! I knew it was French, I knew I knew it, it has the motivic unity of Debussy, and yet I didn't make the connection. Something about the look of this excerpt, and the particular printing perhaps, makes it look more 19th century here.

The third one - I know that handwriting, I'm sure of it, though if it isn't Ligeti I don't know who it is right now....I will ponder on

[greg]

Are the really familiar ones the hardest to get? #2 is from the second movement of La Mer.

another one for Larry!

ok, Luke, i meant #9 was the one i was dying to find out. i'll take another guess.... uh, i really don't know. Did I say Schnittke already? hmmmmmm Arvo Part? Gorecki? Feldman? lol, ok, that's probably too many guesses

Guido's #3 is possibly Schuller

[lukeottevanger]

Hold on a minute, scrub what I said about Ligeti's handwriting. That is Rihm's scrawl in your new no 3, surely, Greg?

[lukeottevanger]

Ah, my no 9. Hmm, clues, clues, clues. Well, that guitar part at the top (acoustic, I'm afraid) is a kind of concertante solo, even though so quiet, slow and simple that I could play it. Then there are the harmonium and cimbalom, which might help. This composer has written only a few orchestral pieces and is better known for his smaller scale songs and piano pieces. One of the finest contemporary composers. This piece has had only one recording AFAIK, though a high profile one. Enough clues.

[Larry Rinkel]

Here I come with one more. You'll see the JPG has six excerpts on it. Most if not all will be easy to get, though you of course have to identify them all. But that's not the challenge. The challenge is to identify the common thread that unites all six pieces.

Enjoy. 

[lukeottevanger]

OK, got 5 of the pieces - you are right, they are straightforward. Should I say them or keep quiet till I have the link (if I get it)?

[Larry Rinkel]

OK, got 5 of the pieces - you are right, they are straightforward. Should I say them or keep quiet till I have the link (if I get it)?

Up to you!

[Larry Rinkel]

Up to you!

Clues may or may not come depending on how quickly the riddle is solved.

[lukeottevanger]

Well, I can't see any link yet, so I might as well at least say the pieces

Bach - Double Violin Concerto
Schumann - Davidsbundlertanze
not sure about the third one yet - am trying out some possibilities!
Tchaikovsky - Serenade for Strings
Webern - Symphony
Ravel -Tzigane

[Larry Rinkel]

Well, I can't see any link yet, so I might as well at least say the pieces

Bach - Double Violin Concerto
Schumann - Davidsbundlertanze
not sure about the third one yet - am trying out some possibilities!
Tchaikovsky - Serenade for Strings
Webern - Symphony
Ravel -Tzigane

Those five are correct. First clue in about 1/2 hour.

[lukeottevanger]

Are all six necessary for the link to be found?

and should I be worried that I can't pick the third one straight away?

[lukeottevanger]

oh, and is the link to do with these particular excerpts/movements, or to do with the complete pieces? Or is that asking too much!?

[Larry Rinkel]

Are all six necessary for the link to be found?

and should I be worried that I can't pick the third one straight away?

No and no.

[Larry Rinkel]

oh, and is the link to do with these particular excerpts/movements, or to do with the complete pieces? Or is that asking too much!?

Think in terms of the complete works in each case.

[Larry Rinkel]

Now just let me eat dinner while you're mulling this over...

[lukeottevanger]

The third one is Mendelssohn's Scottish Symphony (phew!)

[lukeottevanger]

All used for choreography by Balanchine?

[Larry Rinkel]

All used for choreography by Balanchine?

You got it! 

How did you work that out, if I may ask? was it obvious?

[lukeottevanger]

No, it wasn't obvious at all, or not to me - I'm the first to admit that I know next to nothing about dance. So I must confess, I just put what I thought was a particularly unlikely pair - the Davidsbundlertanze and Tzigane, I think - into Google with the idea that as they have little obvious in common, a webpage on which their names are close together may well provide my answer. I found something about Balanchine so I put 'Webern Balanchine', 'Mendelssohn Balanchine' etc. into Google and kept getting results.

Sorry if this prosaic and possibly 'cheating' method takes away from your question and your time-consuming preparation - there was no other way I'd have got the answer, however, I assure you! At least, I expect I'd have needed a good many clues...

[lukeottevanger]

And now I'm going to bed before you have a chance to get cross with me! 

(in my defence - at least I got the music samples themselves without aid!)