Were you paying attention? Classical music in 2016 – quiz

Sakari Oramo conducting the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Last Night of the Proms 2016. Photograph: BBC/Chris Christodoulou/PA

1. 

   Which one of these pianistic partners did Martha Argerich not play duets with in London this year?

   1. Daniel Barenboim

   2. Stephen Kovacevich

   3. Alberto Portugheis

2. Which mezzo-soprano lost her head as Holofernes in a staggering concert performance of Vivaldi's Juditha Triumphans at the Barbican?

   1. Ann Hallenberg

   2. Magdalena Kozena

   3. Delphine Galou

3. ‘A civilisation that conserves is one that will decay’ said which composer, whose life and music nonetheless were celebrated throughout the year?

   1. Pierre Boulez

   2. John Cage

   3. Peter Maxwell Davies

4. 

   Which operatic anti-hero came to an unfortunate end in a disused sewer in Vienna in English Touring Opera’s new production?

   1. Don Giovanni

   2. Rigoletto

   3. Harry Lime

5. Which one of these conductors pulled out of an engagement to conduct in the Bayreuth Festival this year in as yet unexplained circumstances?

   1. Christian Thielemann

   2. Andris Nelsons

   3. Kirill Petrenko

6. Which of these UK opera companies did not welcome a new music director or artistic director (or both) this year?

   1. Royal Opera House

   2. Glyndebourne

   3. English National Opera

7. 

   Whose music was performed in a Peckham car park as one of this year’s Proms?

   1. David Bowie

   2. Benedict Mason

   3. Steve Reich

8. Thirty-year-old Latvian Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla is the newly appointed chief conductor of which British orchestra?

   1. City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra

   2. London Symphony Orchestra

   3. Philharmonia Orchestra

9. 

   Whose opera debut, Pleasure, was set in the toilets of a gay nightclub?

   1. Colin Matthews

   2. Mark Simpson

   3. Anna Meredith

10. Soprano Sarah Tynan sang Britten’s Les Illuminations at the Aldeburgh festival. Who did she perform alongside?

    1. A group of acrobats, clowns and aerialists

    2. An elephant and a camel

    3. A virtual reality projection of Britten accompanying her on the piano

11. 

    In May, Sheku Kanneh-Mason won the BBC Young Musician competition. Which cello concerto did the 17-year-old perform to take the title?

    1. Elgar's Cello Concerto in E minor

    2. Shostakovich's Cello Concerto No 1 in E flat major

    3. Witold Lutosławski's Cello Concerto

12. 

    Sofia Coppola directed an opera - her first - at Rome's Teatro dell'Opera. Which one?

    1. Verdi's La Traviata

    2. Wagner's Tristan und Isolde

    3. Mark-Anthony Turnage's Anna Nicole

13. Who threatened strike action at English National Opera?

    1. The board

    2. The stagehands

    3. The chorus

14. Why was Philip Glass's music featured at this year's Glastonbury festival?

    1. There was an open-air screening of Godfrey Reggio's Koyaanisqatsi with Glass's soundtrack

    2. English National Opera took the opening act of Akhnaten to the Pyramid stage for a Sunday early afternoon performance

    3. Charles Hazlewood and his Army of Generals performed Glass's Heroes Symphony, inspired by David Bowie's 1977 album.

15. 

    This year's Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols at Kings College Chapel features - as it does every year - a specially commissioned carol. By who?

    1. Kanye West

    2. Michael Berkeley

    3. Judith Weir

Solutions

1:B - Argerich duetted with Barenboim at the Proms in August (read our review - http://bit.ly/2bix4As) and Portugheis at the Wigmore Hall in December (read our review - http://bit.ly/2i7KMGO) , 2:C - Read our review - http://bit.ly/2foyhc3, 3:A - The composer and conductor died on 5 January 2016 https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/jan/06/pierre-boulez, 4:A - Read our review - http://bit.ly/2hNeEeY, 5:B - Read the story - http://nyti.ms/2i23Slp, 6:A - Director of Opera Kasper Holten announced his departure this year, but he only leaves his role at the ROH in spring 2017., 7:C - Read our review - http://bit.ly/2bQMn6m, 8:A - Her appointment was announced in February - http://bit.ly/2hASGvh, 9:B - Read our review - http://bit.ly/2hNim8x, 10:A - Read about the production that mixed circus with the song cycle - http://bit.ly/1TXeRVn, 11:B, 12:A - Read our review - http://bit.ly/2h6S1B2, 13:C, 14:C, 15:B

Scores