Guess the Overture (Classical music Test) Part II (EXPERT) 

The 15th... The most beautiful Overture of all! ♥️♥️♥️

15/15, as usual. Sorry, I was late.

Being in a youth orchestra is basically considered receiving a masters in overture recognition

13 out of 15. (working at an Opera House gives an adtavantage) Although "Pique Dame" is not an Overture. It's a Prelude. "What's the difference?", I hear people ask: An overture has a specific form. It's either in the italian "Sinfonia" style, like the overtures to baroque operas. Fast, slow, fast. (Many of Mozart's of operas have this kind of overture). Or it is in the form of a sonata movement, like Rossini's or Beethoven's overtures. Or they are in the form of a potpouri, with the most important themes from the work they are introducing. (Like the Offenbach overtures). A Prelude is much shorter and has no predefined form. There are exceptions though. Wagner's Meistersinger Prelude is a mix of potpouri and sonata form and could as well have been called Overture by the composer. Examples of opera's with preludes instead of overtures: La Traviata, Aida (even though Verdi wrote an alternative overture), Carmen, Tristan und Isolde, Eugen Onegin And just for comparism a few of Verdi's operas that actually have overtures instead of preludes: Nabucco, La Forza del Destino, Les Vepres sicilliene, Luisa Miller.

Where's the "15/15 as usual " guy?

Tannhäuser Overture is one of my all time favourite classical pieces. So epic!

I love tannhauser overture so much

I definitely knew 2 and 3 because an opera company I sing chorus (as well as Dr Blind) for have done those productions fairly recently.

I would have appreciated Der Freischütz by Carl Maria von Weber. Great overture.

11 out of 15. Suggestions for the next overture challenge: The Gadfly or the Overture on Russian and Kirghiz folk themes, both by Shostakovich. Or overtures by Gretry. Hänsel und Gretel overture by Humperdinck. Cuban overture by Gershwin, Tivoli Festival overture by Hyldgaard, the bronze horse by Auber, Stein der Weisen by Mozart et al. Sometimes I am confused because titles are in different languages. La Forza del Destino is in Italian but Poet and Paysant (actually Dichter und Bauer) is in English.

Great quizz, with a variety of easy and hard pieces. Thanks for your work! I got 8 before the first letter was given, 3 after, and failed on 4. A couple letters were potentially misleading for non-English speaking people (as a Frenchman, I couldn't make the connection between the Pique dame music and the letter Q). Herold and Miaskovsky completely eluded me, and I took Sullivan for Elgar (but still knew there was pudding around).

4 wrong. (Better luck next time ?)

This is difficult, only the first 'letter', but we have to guess if you use the original language title or English title (Smetana probably called it Prodana Nevesta). Also, in proper alphabetical ordening, the use of articles is incorrect, but you did spell those out so I'll forgive you...🙂

Ахах. Так смешно получилось. Когда увидела в списке букву Т, думала, что там будет Тристан. И вот когда остается последняя, слышу этот ми мажорный аккорд и так весело с того, что это Тангейзер)

Great Job Dmitri as always.I have a question could you please do „guess the piano piece“ series.I am a pianist myself and I would like that.

Well, I'm clearly NOT an expert! I only got 4 right, although I recognised three others that I couldn't put a name to, at least not in 15 seconds . . .