Miaskovsky and prokofiev

Nikolai Miaskovsky entered the St. Petersburg Con­servatoire at the age of 25. There he met a fifteen-year-old student, who was to become his devoted friend. That student very often asked questions such as: "How many t-s should I write in the word symphonieta? I write one, but I think I ought to write two." Or: "What Beethoven's sonata should I choose for study?" Nikolai answered: "If you are writing a symphonietta, you ought to write two t-s; and you ought not to ask me what sonata you should choose, take any, they are all wonderful." When Miaskovsky at the age of 30 finished the class in composition nobody thought that he was to become not only the first-class composer but the first-class teacher at the Moscow Conservatoire. Sergei Prokofiev, that very student who wrote one t in the word symphonietta, finished his class at the age of 18, but he had to stay at the Conservatoire for another 5 years to study conducting and piano-playing. When he got the first prize-for piano-playing at the final exam nobody thought that he was to become a world famous composer.

Вопросы к тексту:

1. Where did Miaskovsky and Prokofiev become devoted friends?

2. How old where they at that time?

3. Was Miaskovsky the first-class composer or the first-class teacher?

4. For how many years was Prokofiev studying conducting and piano-playing?

5. Was Prokofiev only a world famous pianist?

Контрольная работа №4 для студентов специальности зонп/ зртк

Task 1. Напишите на английском языке, когда родились эти люди:

Beethoven, Galileo, Elvis Presley, Agatha Christie, Leonardo da Vinci, William Shakespear and you.

Task 2. Задайте вопросы в действительном и страдательном залогах к данным ответам во втором столбике. Ключевые слова вам помогут.

where/ live	In Manchester
born there	No, I was born in London
Married	Yes
how long/ married	17 yeas
have/ children	Yes, 2 boys
how old/ they	12 and 15
what/ do	I’m a journalist
what/ wife/ do	She’s a doctor

Task 3. Напишите предложения в страдательном залоге и переведите их.

1. I took him for a walk.

2. We shall book tickets tomorrow.

3. We discuss such problems at our meetings.

4. Someone wants you on the phone.

5. They didn’t give me any information.

6. They asked me some difficult questions at the interview.

Task 4. Перепишите предложения выбрав нужную форму глагола в действительном или страдательном залоге. Переведите предложения.

1. Water (cover) most of the Earth’s surface.

2. The park gates (lock) at 6.30 p.m. every evening.

3. The letter (post) a week ago and it (arrive) yesterday.

4. While I was on holiday, my camera (steal) from my hotel room.

5. While I was on holiday, my camera (disappear) from my hotel room.

6. The boat hit a rock and (sink) quickly

Task 5. Прочитайте текст, письменно переведите 1, 3, 4 и 5 абзацы.

Musical America.

1.What kind of music do Americans play, listen to, sing and com­pose? Since the United States was settled largely by Europeans, it is not surprising that classical music and folk songs were brought over from that continent. Beethoven, Brahms, Debussy, Tchaikovsky, Stra­vinsky, Bach, Mozart, Bartok and Verdi are but a few names of Euro­pean composers often seen on orchestra or opera programmes. English, Irish and Scottish folk songs are sung so often and have been sung in America by so many generations that Americans are not even con­scious that these songs are of foreign origin.

2. There are many folk songs that grew out of folk. Railroad work gangs and the men in lumber camps had their own ballads and love songs. The cowboy, too, sang about his work and his girl. In recent years there has been increased interest in collecting and recording the folk songs of rural folk from remote regions.

3. By far the greatest contribution to American music, however, has been made by the Negroes in the South. The Negro songs are now part of the nation's precious musical heritage.

4. The Negroes' greatest contribution to American music has been jazz, of course. After the Civil War some of the brass instruments of the Confederate military bands fell into the hands of the Negroes, and the result was all kinds of rhythmical and melodic experiments.

5. Thus jazz, free of conventions and written arrangements, was born. Such composers as Aaron Copland and George Gershwin in Ame­rica and Stravinsky, Ravel and Milhand in Europe have been influenced by American jazz.

6.An important contribution to world music has been made by American composers of another type of music generally called "pop" — the songs produced for commercial use by professional dance bands, and by amateur musicians. The following men are composers whose songs are constantly sung and played by present-day Americans: Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, George Gershwin, Richard Rogers, Arthur Schwartz and Vincent Youmans.

Task 6. Найдите в тексте и напишите ответы на вопросы по содержанию текста.

1.Where were folk songs brought to America from?

2. What did cowboys sing about?

3. Are the Negro songs part of the nation’s precious musical heritage?

4. Which composers have been influenced by American jazz?

5. The songs by George Gershwin are constantly sung by present day Americans, aren’t they?