Percy Grainger liked to whip himself and others. He had a room totally surrounded in mirrors so he could whip himself and then admire his artwork....

PatH and Angel you are both correct.

Yes, Percy Grainger was heavily involved in S & M. I can't recall where, but there is a museum in Australia where many of Grainger's instruments of pain and torture are on display.

Speaking of oddities or oddballs, that might be an area to explore for #1

3. Fedora  opera in three acts by Umberto Giordano

https://www.youtube.com/embed/d1m2HKAEmuQ?rel=0&autoplay=1

That's a lovely aria, Bubble.  I never heard of Fedora before.

Grainger shows that the ability to make music isn't correlated with personal character.

Bubble you are correct, and I agree with PatH; that's a beautiful aria.

Don, since I looked up #1 I won't list it here but after your clue, I had to check. Do you agree with the notion that a creative or artistic temperament tends to be a little more unusual?

Quote from: angelface555 on September 16, 2017, 03:55:12 PM
Don, since I looked up #1 I won't list it here but after your clue, I had to check. Do you agree with the notion that a creative or artistic temperament tends to be a little more unusual?

No, I don't agree with that. I would say that most of the great composers had idiosyncracies of one form or another just like us. Mozart, Haydn, Handel,Mendelssohn all seemed to have well ordered lives and also wrote beautiful music.  Schumann also wrote beautiful music and he was insane.

Okay. I have a friend who works with welding tools for large sculptures and a friend who specializes in stained glass and they say otherwise. But as you pointed out, it isn't always that way. I went back to look up Schumann and he was a tragic haunted figure.

1. Satie

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kj_UETbqHuI&feature=player_embedded

Bubble, thank you. I feel I should explain that I wasn't saying all those who are creative are crazy. Simply that it, a creative mind, needs a little different from normal. Mozart and Mendelssohn, both being child prodigies, had some creative quirks.

Many professions need people of certain moods and talents.  Salesmen are a different breed from engineers, for instance.  I worked with salesmen and as the company was an electric utility, we had engineers.  One day a woman in the Personnel Department remarked that she wished my salesmen could be more like the engineers.  I told her if they were like engineers, they'd be engineers.  I don't recall her reaction, but different professions demand different types of people.

Mary Ann

Bubble you are correct re #1.

Mary Ann it's an interesting topic which is difficult to resolve. Many of our famous composers started out in different professions. Handel, Sibelius, Stravinsky for example studied law before taking up music.  Berlioz was in med school. We can only wonder what turned them around to become such great composers.

Quiz Clues
A hint for #2: These characters are in a German opera which in part is about a contest.

A hint for #3: the characters' names are Octavian, Cherubino, and Isolier.  Cherubino in Mozart’s Marriage Of Figaro, Isolier in Rossini’s Comte Ory and Octavian in Strauss’ opera Der Rosenkavalier

I knew immediately what Cherubino and Octavian had in common.  They are trouser roles--male characters sung by women.  But I'm totally unfamiliar with Comte Ory, and didn't want to look it up.

Good morning all!

I am woefully knowledgeable regarding opera in general, much preferring the music only. Saint Saens produced one of my favorites in Samson and Delilah, The Bacchanale  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbkCfxnoY4A

I much prefer imagining Arabian horses racing across the desert with a brief stop at an oasis, and a clashing of swords. 

Final clue for #2 it was written bt Wagner.  It's an open quiz so anybody can answer

Die Meistersinger.

PatH you are correct. And that concludes the quiz.

MarsGal that's a memorable piece as is this aria from the same opera.  My Heart at Thy sweet Voice
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lI4LfJsrx8Qhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lI4LfJsrx8Q

Here is a summary of Quiz#2:
1: Which composer was known as the Velvet Gentleman?      Eric Satie  Bubble
2: This opera featured a stocking weaver, a furrier and a cobbler.  What’s the name of that opera. Die Meistersinger PatH
3: What opera shares the same name as a gentleman’s hat?    Fedora by Giordano Bubble
4: In terms of attire what do all of these operatic characters have in common: Cherubino in Mozart’s Marriage Of Figaro, Count Ory in Rossini’s Comte Ory and Octavian in Strauss’ opera Der Rosenkavalier  They are male characters but performed by women.   PatH
5: Which composer started designing his own clothes such as jackets, togas and leggings. And for his girlfriend Karren he designed what may be the first version of a sports bra.    Percy Grainger Angelface
#6 Musical clue:  is Bizet's L'Arlesienne. PatH

That was an enjoyable quiz.  The clothing theme was fun.

MarsGal, I like that Saint-Saens a lot--it's familiar, but I'd forgotten what it was.  That's Dudamel at his most subdued.  Usually you're afraid he's going to fall off the podium, and I've seen him with both feet in the air, jumping with enthusiasm.

Bubble, I didn't know about Satie and velvet, but it fits his posing.  That long session to study by was also good for Sunday morning background music.

1:   Which composer refused to relinquish the conductor’s podium to his friend Johann Matheson’s at a performance of the latter’s opera.  The refusal resulted in an almost-fatal duel.

2: In Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess there was an argument which resulted in the fatal stabbing of one of the characters.  Who was arguing with whom and what was the argument about. (If I recall correctly there are two valid answers to this one, so give them both if you know.)

3:  In 2011 there was a heated disagreement between a famous conductor and a rising pianist  that became so heated that the scheduled concert had to be cancelled which also resulted in the cancellation of a recording contract.  The disagreement was over how a cadenza, of all things, should have been played. The conductor is more famous than the pianist, but try to name one or both.

4: In the 1980 Chopin Piano Festival a very famous pianist resigned from the panel of judges because of what she claimed to be an unfair and biased decision when the panel awarded the first prize to someone she deemed unworthy over whom she reckoned was superior to anyone in the competition.  Name the judge who resigned and pianist whom she felt should have been the winner.

5: The duo of Gilbert and Sullivan were constantly at war with one another throughout their entire artistic collaboration.  But the final straw that broke them up was a disagreement over what?

6: These operatic titles have been translated to Latin; see if you can untranslate them.
(a) Tibia Magica -1791 (b)  Sucus Amoris - 1832 (c) Crepusculum Deorum

7:  Name this tune and composer: https://www.normalesup.org/~glafon/musique/Quizzmp3/extrait05.mp3

6.  [a] Amadeus Mozart - The Magic Flute
Donizetti - The Elixir of Love
[c] Richard Wagner  - Le Crépuscule des Dieux

5. Gilbert accused Richard D'Oyly Carte (play producer and builder of the Savoy Theatre) of financial malfeasance after Carte charged new carpet for the theatre to Gilbert and Sullivan rather than an expense to the theatre. For some strange reason Sullivan supported Carte in the matter. I don't know the particulars of the contract between Gillbert and Sullivan, but on the surface I'd have to agree with Gilbert.

Bubble your Latin translations are correct. For those unfamiliar with the answer for (C) it's the Twilight of The Gods,or Götterdämmerung from Wagner's Ring Cycle.

MarsGal you are correct; the dispute was about carpet. I would hazard a guess that Sullivan supported Carte just to spite Gilbert.

Musicians sure are a quarrelsome lot.  Question #1 intrigued me so much I had to look it up, but i won't tell unless it fits the rules to research.  It's a funny story, though.

And question #3 has me tearing my hair.  I keep up with current musical gossip, and I'm sure I would have read something about it at the time, but it doesn't ring a bell.

PatH please use any means at your disposal to arrive at an answer.  I often use Google to prepare the questions, so it's more than fair if you use Google to solve them.

I think there has been sufficient time for all to answer, so I'll throw it open and let you answer as many as you can.

#1: It was George Frideric Handel who refused to give up the podium during a performance of Mattheson's Cleopatra.  During the duel which followed, Handel's life was spared by a large button on his clothing, which deflected his opponent's sword.  They were later reconciled.

So I guess the fancy clothing of the time had some point after all.

In Porgy and Bess, Crown stabbed the winner of the dice game, over the money he wanted  to take for himself.  I forgot the name of the victim
Later on there was a fight between Crown and POrgy, as Crown wanted to force Bess to go with him and Porgy killed Crown.

#4: with the aid of Google, this was easy, but I'm pleased that I guessed who the pianist-judge might be before looking it up.

Pianist Martha Argerich resigned as judge when her fellow judges didn't think well of contestant Ivo Pogorelich.  Here's the whole story, rather amusing, with a clip of Pogorelich playing Chopin.  It's fun to watch his hands--I'm sure he can make Chopin sound any way he wants it to--but I'm with those who didn't care for his interpretation.

http://radiochopin.org/episodes/item/524-radio-chopin-episode-65-etude-in-f-major-op-10-no-8

That one was a bit of a challenge, wasn't it?
The answers given were all correct, so well done to you!

1:   Which composer refused to relinquish the conductor’s podium to his friend Johann Matheson’s at a performance of the latter’s opera.  The refusal resulted in an almost-fatal duel.
Answer:  #1: It was George Frideric Handel who refused to give up the podium during a performance of Mattheson's Cleopatra.  During the duel which followed, Handel's life was spared by a large button on his clothing, which deflected his opponent's sword.  They were later reconciled.  PatH

2: In Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess there was an argument which resulted in the fatal stabbing of one of the characters.  Who was arguing with whom and what was the argument about. (If I recall correctly there are two valid answers to this one, so give them both if you know.)  ANSWER: In Porgy and Bess, Crown stabbed the winner of the dice game, over the money he wanted  to take for himself. 
Later on there was a fight between Crown and POrgy, as Crown wanted to force Bess to go with him and Porgy killed Crown BUBBLE

3:  In 2011 there was a heated disagreement between a famous conductor and a rising pianist  that became so heated that the scheduled concert had to be cancelled which also resulted in the cancellation of a recording contract.  The disagreement was over how a cadenza, of all things, should have been played. The conductor is more famous than the pianist, but try to name one or both.  Nobody got this one; ANSWER:  http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/31/arts/music/helene-grimaud-and-claudio-abbado-part-ways.html

4: In the 1980 Chopin Piano Festival a very famous pianist resigned from the panel of judges because of what she claimed to be an unfair and biased decision when the panel awarded the first prize to someone she deemed unworthy over whom she reckoned was superior to anyone in the competition.  Name the judge who resigned and pianist whom she felt should have been the winner. ANSWER:  Pianist Martha Argerich resigned as judge when her fellow judges didn't think well of contestant Ivo Pogorelich.  Here's the whole story, rather amusing, with a clip of Pogorelich playing Chopin.  It's fun to watch his hands--I'm sure he can make Chopin sound any way he wants it to--but I'm with those who didn't care for his interpretation.  PatH

5: The duo of Gilbert and Sullivan were constantly at war with one another throughout their entire artistic collaboration.  But the final straw that broke them up was a disagreement over what?  ANSWER:  Gilbert accused Richard D'Oyly Carte (play producer and builder of the Savoy Theatre) of financial malfeasance after Carte charged new carpet for the theatre to Gilbert and Sullivan rather than an expense to the theatre. For some strange reason Sullivan supported Carte in the matter. I don't know the particulars of the contract between Gillbert and Sullivan, but on the surface I'd have to agree with Gilbert.  MarsGal

6: These operatic titles have been translated to Latin; see if you can untranslate them.
(a) Tibia Magica -1791 (b)  Sucus Amoris - 1832 (c) Crepusculum Deorum
6.  [a] Amadeus Mozart - The Magic Flute
Donizetti - The Elixir of Love
[c] Richard Wagner  - Le Crépuscule des Dieux (Twilight Of The Gods)  BUBBLE

7:  Name this tune and composer: https://www.normalesup.org/~glafon/musique/Quizzmp3/extrait05.mp3 Nobody got this one either.

Answer:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSE15tLBdso

That was a hard quiz, but it was a lot of fun.  It's not surprising that spending your life totally wrapped up in the emotion and meaning of music, and figuring out how to say it the way you want to leads to tensions, low flash points, and quarrels.  More amusing to watch that to be in the middle of.

#7 was driving me nuts.  It's one of those themes you've heard so often you forget what it is.  I could anticipate each note, but couldn't remember it was Boccherini.