History 1 Associated People

Question 1

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Answer 1

Schubert: he was influenced by German Romantic poets like Goethe; Goethe’s poem was the text for Schubert’s “Erlkonig”

Question 2

Prince Leopold of Cothen

Answer 2

Bach: In 1717-1723, Bach was his kapellmeister

Question 3

Antonio Salieri

Answer 3

Mozart: Salieri was Mozart’s frustrated rival.
Schubert: Salieri taught him theory and composition

Question 4

Stéphane Mallarmé

Answer 4

Debussy: Mallarmé’s Symbolist poem was the source of inspiration for Debussy’s Prélude a l’après-midi d’un faune

Question 5

Robert Craft

Answer 5

Stravinsky: Craft and Stravinsky had a long and important friendship; Craft was an American composer/conductor and wrote books of their friendship

Question 6

Jozef Elsner

Answer 6

Chopin: Elsner was the director of the new Warsaw Conservatory; in his early teens, Chopin began lessons with him

Question 7

Prince Lichnowsky

Answer 7

Beethoven: Lichnowsky was an influential patron

Question 8

Michel Fokine

Answer 8

Stravinsky: Fokine was the choreographer of “Petrushka”

Question 9

Queen Anne

Answer 9

Handel: Handel received an annual salary from Queen Anne when he was in London

Question 10

Prince Francesco Maria Ruspoli

Answer 10

Handel: when Handel was in Italy (1706-1710), he worked for Prince Ruspoli

Question 11

Christian Neefe

Answer 11

Beethoven: Neefe was court organist in Bonn, and Beethoven studied composition and counterpoint with him

Question 12

Charles Jennens

Answer 12

Handel: Jennens was the librettist for Handel’s “Messiah”

Question 13

Franz Xavier Sussmayr

Answer 13

Mozart: Sussmayr was Mozart’s student; after Mozart’s death, he completed his unfinished Requiem from the master’s sketches

Question 14

Lorenzo da Ponte

Answer 14

Mozart: da Ponte was the librettist for some of Mozart’s operas, including “The Marriage of Figaro” and “Don Giovanni”

Question 15

Prosper Mérimée

Answer 15

Bizet: Mérimée wrote the novella “Carmen”, which became the basis for Bizet’s opera “Carmen”

Question 16

Harriet Smithson

Answer 16

Berlioz: Berlioz had been obsessed with Smithson, a Shakespearean actress, for many years; she was the inspiration for “Symphonie fantastique”; they did marry and had one son

Question 17

David Belasco

Answer 17

Puccini: the plot of Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly” was based on a play by Belasco

Question 18

Georges Sand

Answer 18

Chopin: Chopin had a love affair with novelist Aurore Dudevant (pen name Georges Sand) 1836-1847; never married, no children, the romance ended bitterly

Question 19

Sergei Diaghilev

Answer 19

Stravinsky: as director of “Les Ballets Russes” in Paris, Diaghilev commissioned some of Stravinsky’s early ballets that launched his career, “The Firebird”, “Petrushka”

Question 20

Prince Nikolaus Esterhazy

Answer 20

Haydn: Haydn was employed with the Esterhazy family for over 30 years

Question 21

Illica and Giacosa

Answer 21

Puccini: they were the librettists of Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly”

Question 22

Meilhac and Halévy

Answer 22

Bizet: librettists for Bizet’s “Carmen”

Question 23

Jerome Robbins

Answer 23

Bernstein: choreographer for Bernstein’s “West Side Story”

Question 24

Stephen Sondheim

Answer 24

Bernstein: lyricist for Bernstein’s “West Side Story”

Question 25

Constanze Weber

Answer 25

Mozart: Mozart’s wife, an opera singer; they married in 1782 against Mozart’s father’s wishes; only two of their six children survived

Question 26

Alex Pauk

Answer 26

Louie: Louie’s husband, a composer and conductor; they have two daughters

Question 27

Anna Magdalena Wilcke

Answer 27

Bach: Bach’s second wife, a court singer, married in 1721; sons Johann Christian and Johann Christoph

Question 28

Johann Peter Salomon

Answer 28

Haydn: in 1790 Haydn took his first trip to London, and was engaged by Salomon, a concert promoter, for a series of concerts

Question 29

Nadezhda von Meck

Answer 29

Debussy: van Meck was a rich Russian businesswoman, Tchaikowky’s patron; Debussy was employed as a piano teacher for her family

Question 30

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov

Answer 30

Stravinsky: Stravinsky met Vladimir, Nikolai’s son, in law school; through this connection, Stravinsky met the master composer, who mentored him for several years

Question 31

Duke of Weimar

Answer 31

Bach: 1708-1717, Bach was his court organist and chamber musician

Question 32

Frederick the Great

Answer 32

Bach: Bach visited Frederick the Great in 1747; wrote a contrapuntal work based on a theme provided by the king: “The Musical Offering”

Question 33

Maria Anna Keller

Answer 33

Haydn: Haydn married Keller in 1760; an unhappy, childless marriage

Question 34

Empress Maria Theresa

Answer 34

Mozart: During an extensive tour across Europe, Mozart met Empress Maria Theresa at age six

Question 35

Napoleon Bonaparte

Answer 35

Beethoven: Beethoven admired Napoleon, but grew disillusioned with him; removed Napoleon’s name from the dedication of Symphony No 3, “Eroica” after he declared himself emperor

Question 36

Johann Michael Vogl

Answer 36

Schubert: Vogl was a renowned baritone, and was part of Schubert’s dedicated circle of friends and admirers

Question 37

Marie Recio

Answer 37

Berlioz: in 1844, Berlioz separated with wife Harriet Smithson and moved in with singer Marie Recio, although he still supported Harriet; following Harriet’s death, Berlioz married Marie Recio in 1854

Question 38

Rosalie (“Lilly”) Texier

Answer 38

Debussy: Debussy’s first wife, married in 1899, whom he later left

Question 39

Emma Bardac

Answer 39

Debussy: Debussy’s second wife; daughter was born 1905

Question 40

Katerina Nossenko

Answer 40

Stravinsky: Stravinsky’s first wife, a childhood friend and cousin

Question 41

Vaslav Nijinsky

Answer 41

Stravinsky: Nijinsky choreographed Stravinsky’s “The Rite of Spring”

Question 42

Vera de Boset

Answer 42

Stravinsky: Stravinsky’s second wife; married after his first wife died after a long illness

Question 43

Alexandre Benois

Answer 43

Stravinsky: Benois and Stravinsky wrote the story line for “Petrushka”

Question 44

Arthur Laurents

Answer 44

Bernstein: Laurents was the playwright for Bernstein’s “West Side Story”