1. Which of the following was (possibly) at the Graz performance of Strauss’s shocking opera Salome in 1906?

   1. Joseph Stalin

   2. Winston Churchill

   3. Adolf Hitler

2. What was Strauss’s favourite of his operas to play on his piano at his villa in Garmisch, which he had built in 1909 and where he died 40 years later?

   1. Daphne

   2. Der Rosenkavalier

   3. Arabella

3. Strauss sent Verdi a copy of his first opera, Guntram. What, broadly, was Verdi’s reaction?

   1. Nice one. Carry on!

   2. You’ve either got it or you haven’t. You haven’t. Stop. Now!

   3. Meh … OK, but don’t get your hopes up.

4. 2001: A Space Odyssey pits Strauss, R against Strauss J (no relation). But what scene does Richard's Also sprach Zarathustra score?

   1. Orbiting spaceships

   2. The dawn of man

   3. The malfunctioning of computer HAL

5. “Too much sugar-water". Which conductor said that about Der Rosenkavalier?

   1. Pierre Boulez

   2. Otto Klemperer

   3. Arturo Toscanini

6. What was the name of the Munich-based amateur orchestra who played Strauss’s first pieces – written at the age of six – in arrangements by his father?

   1. The Contenders

   2. The Munich Music Men

   3. The Wild Gang

7. The Four Last Songs. Are they really?

   1. Yes

   2. No

8. Strauss did all of the following only once in his lifetime:

   1. Paragliding, rock-climbing, pike-fishing

   2. Hunting, driving, flying

   3. Trumpet-playing, fugue-writing, film-composing

9. Joseph Goebbels gave Strauss a bust of which composer?

   1. Anton Bruckner

   2. Richard Wagner

   3. Christoph Willibald Gluck

10. Pauline Strauss, a brilliant singer, was Richard’s ever-present life-partner: they were married for 55 years. Which of the following pieces is not based on their lives together

    1. Capriccio

    2. Intermezzo

    3. Sinfonia Domestica

11. Which piece of Strauss’s pits C major and B major against one another in an existential battle royale between humanity and the universe?

    1. Ein Heldenleben

    2. Also sprach Zarathustra

    3. Eine Alpensinfonie

12. What connects Strauss with The Sound of Music?

    1. Soprano Lotte Lehmnann, who created the role of Christine in Intermezzo, also discovered the Von Trapp Family Singers

    2. Nuns - Strauss made several attempts to complete an opera based on the Abelard and Heloise love story

    3. Much of the 1965 film's outdoor scenes were filmed in the grounds of a country house that Strauss and his wife owned in the 1920s

Solutions

1:C, 2:A, 3:A, 4:B, 5:B, 6:C, 7:B, 8:B, 9:C, 10:A, 11:B, 12:A

Scores

1. 0 and above.

   What a racket! Compose yourself, please.

2. 1 and above.

   What a racket! Compose yourself, please.

3. 2 and above.

   What a racket! Compose yourself, please.

4. 3 and above.

   What a racket! Compose yourself, please.

5. 4 and above.

   What a racket! Compose yourself, please.

6. 5 and above.

   You've hit a few bum notes there, but your work shows promise.

7. 6 and above.

   You've hit a few bum notes there, but your work shows promise.

8. 7 and above.

   You've hit a few bum notes there, but your work shows promise.

9. 8 and above.

   You've hit a few bum notes there, but your work shows promise.

10. 9 and above.

    A soaring triumph. The audience are on their feet.

11. 10 and above.

    A soaring triumph. The audience are on their feet.

12. 11 and above.

    A soaring triumph. The audience are on their feet.

13. 12 and above.

    A soaring triumph. The audience are on their feet.