This week I’m going to provide you with a recent game that we played on my YouTube show in honor of a fellow named “Piano Man.” This person is a concert pianist and travels the world. I know, I know, I attract all sorts of people. It amazes me too so you are not alone in your assessment of the situation.
He had a birthday on February 24 and was born in 1972. The questions might relate to those dates but are mainly associated with his hobbies and his country of origin, etc.
For those who are new to this jazz, the answers will be provided at the end of this piece. As always, please excuse any sentence structure irregularities. I used many visual aids in this game but will try to get 20 questions out of it. Good luck and enjoy!
One: This former “FAB” musician who shares a birthday with Piano Man but was born in 1943, was actually stabbed by an intruder in his own home in 1999. He died in 2001 but not from injuries related to the stabbing, of course.
Two: In America what catchy little saying helps children learn the lines of the treble clef. What is the mnemonic in other words?
Three: On Feb 24, 1863 Congress established this territory by taking a portion of New Mexico Territory. Iced tea, John McCain and a Brady Bunch vacation come to mind.
Four: What is the basic term for the performance of a program of music by a solo instrumentalist or singer or by a small group.
Five: Of these choices, which is true about Russian born composer Alexander Scriabin: 1) He was missing a finger on his left hand from a childhood farming mishap 2) He died on the Titanic on his way to perform in the US for the first time 3) He was trained as a soldier at one point.
Six: Nothing meant more to composer Robert Schumann than being a ___________.
Seven: Where is Rachmaninoff buried?
Eight: What religion do more than 3 quarters of Russians follow?
Nine: Name two republics that were a part of the USSR (Soviet Union).
Ten: In 1996, the United States “interfered” with the elections in Russia in order to guarantee that their man was put in place. Who was that man?
Eleven: What is the claim to fame of José Saramago of these choices: A) World renown for his expertese in the field of bee keeping/research B) Nobel Prize in Literature recipient C) Led the campaign to decriminlize drugs in Portugal.
Twleve: I am the smallest breed and am also a “region” south of the border; plus Piano Man has one of me named Bacci.
Thirteen: I can mean to do something without a total plan in place, kind of take it as it comes, and am also an action taken when a person cannot read music or doesn’t have the sheet music handy.
Fourteen: The _________ School is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music.
Fifteen: Russia is one of several countries with the claim to fame of “lounging” on two of these. Other countries with this distinction are Indonisia, Turkey and Georgia to name three.
Sixteen: Of these choices a survey carried out in 2013 indicated that this percentage of Russians are superstitious: A) 45% B) 52% C) 74% B) 52%.
Seventeen: A Russian superstition says that shaking hands or kissing a guest across one of these is out of the question.
Eighteen: Bouquets with an even numbers of flowers are reserved for this occasion only. Most Russians strictly adhere to this tradition.
Nineteen: Carrying out this usually joyful activity (especilly if you are a hard working friend of Snow White), indoors in Russia is considered to be bad luck.
Twenty: A ________ is a self-contained part of a musical composition or musical form. While individual or selected ones from a composition are sometimes performed separately, a performance of the complete work requires all of them to be performed in succession.
I think that covers it for the week. I hope you got a great score. I made this game a bit easier, by the by.
THE END (Interstate Crosscheck, “War is a Racket,” by General Smedley Butler)
Answers. One, George Harrison, more info: February 25 is the date traditionally observed as Harrison’s birthday but George told Billboard magazine in December 1992 that his birthday is actually February 24. He had recently become aware of his actual day O birth just prior to that interview.
Two, Every Good Boy Does Fine.
Three, Arizona. Four, Recital. Five, 3) He was trained as a soldier at the Moscow Cadet School.
Six, Father, more info: Nothing meant more to Schumann than being a father — and he was an extraordinary one. Fathers at the time tended to be distant, reserved, and authoritative. Not Schumann. He played games with his seven children, read to them, and took walks with them. He kept a diary for them of major events — like discovering a bird’s nest. And he was an early advocate of kindergartens, which had been developed in Germany around 1840. Schumann’s music was also affected by his love for his children. He wrote pieces directly inspired by their activities, as well as works written for children in general. These were not the usual boring sonatinas, but imaginative and entertaining works, like those he published in the Album for the Young Op. 68 in 1848.
Seven, New York. Eight, Russian Orthodox Church/Russian Orthodox.
Nine, Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, Belorussia, Uzbekistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia. In the decades after it was established, the Russian-dominated Soviet Union grew into one of the world’s most powerful and influential states and eventually encompassed 15 republics. Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, was a federal sovereign state in northern Eurasia that existed from 1922 to 1991.
Ten, Boris Yeltsin. Eleven, B) Nobel Prize in Literature more info: He was a Portuguese writer and recipient of the 1998 Nobel Prize in Literature. His works, some of which can be seen as allegories, commonly present subversive perspectives on historic events, emphasizing the theopoetic human factor.
Twelve, Chihuahua. Thirteen, Play by Ear or Play it by Ear. Fourteen, Julliard. Fifteen, Continents.
Sixteen, B) 52% more info: A survey by independent pollster Levada Center in 2013 found that 52 percent of Russians believed in omens, prophetic dreams and astrology. Admittedly, this was a decline from 57 percent in 2000 — but still represented more than half of the population at the time.
Seventeen, Threshold or doorway.
Eighteen, Funerals.
Nineteen, Whistling More info: not only is it unlucky but it will lead to financial problems as well!
Twenty, Movement.