Join Petroc Trelawny on a journey through the rich world of classical music, where great composers, fun facts and clever puzzles bring its stories to life.
Written by the renowned BBC broadcaster Petroc Trelawny, with puzzles by Dr Gareth Moore and Laura Jayne Ayres, this stylish and entertaining book is the perfect blend of classical music knowledge and puzzle-solving fun.
Petroc Trelawny is one of the most recognisable voices in classical music broadcasting, known for presenting BBC Radio 3s In Tune and formerly Breakfast, as well as anchoring coverage of the BBC Proms and other major national events. With his signature warmth and insight, he brings the stories of classical music to life on every page.
Inside, readers will find a beautifully designed collection of puzzles, quizzes and curious facts covering composers, concert halls, iconic works and much more. Whether you're a seasoned concert-goer or simply enjoy listening to Radio 3 or Classic FM, this book is packed with detail, charm and challenge.
Can you tell your Bach from your Berlioz? Your Mozart from your Mendelssohn? With 80 puzzles divided into five themed sections - Vocal, Stage, Orchestral, Concertos and Instrumental - this is a book to dip into, puzzle over and return to again and again. No prior musical knowledge is needed, just a curious mind and a love of learning.
Petroc Trelawnys Classical Music Puzzle Book is the ideal gift for music lovers of all kinds. Perfect for Christmas, birthdays or thoughtful self-gifting, its a joyful celebration of music, culture and the fun of figuring things out.
Introduction
UK
William Byrd Mass for Five Voices (c.1540-1623)
Henry Purcell King Arthur (1659-1695)
Edward Elgar Piano Quintet (1857-1934)
*Ethel Smyth The Wreckers (1858-1944)
Gustav Holst Hammersmith (1874-1934)
**Samuel Coleridge Taylor The Song of Hiawatha (1875-1912)
Ralph Vaughan Williams Symphony No 3 Pastoral (1872-1958)
*Grace Williams Penillion (1906-1977)
*Imogen Holst Suite for Solo Viola (1907-1984)
Benjamin Britten Night Mail (1913-1976)
*Doreen Carwithen One Damn Thing After Another (1922-2003)
*/**Errolyn Wallen TBA (b. 1958)
Thomas Adès The Tempest / Arcadiana? (b.1971)
Russia
Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky The Nutcracker (1840-1893)
Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov Scheherazade (1844-1908)
Dmitri Shostakovich Moscow Cheryomushk (1906-1975)
United States
*Amy Beach TBA (1867-1944)
Charles Ives Three Places in New England (1874-1954)
*/**Florence Price Symphony No.1 in E minor (1887-1953)
**William Grant Still Symphony No.1 Afro-American (1895-1978)
Aaron Copland Appalachian Spring (1900-1990)
*Ruth Crawford Seeger Three Songs to poems by Carl Sandburg (1901-1953)
Elliott Carter Epigrams (1908-2012)
Samuel Barber Adagio for Strings (1910-1981)
John Cage 433 (1912-1992)
Steve Reich Different Trains (b.1936)
*Jennifer Higdon Scenes from the Poets Dreams (b.1962)
Germany/Austria
*Hildegard of Bingen Symphonia Armonie Celestium Revelationum (1098-1179)
Johann Sebastian Bach Coffee Cantata (1685-1750)
Franz Joseph Haydn Symphony No.45 in F sharp minor Farewell (1732-1809)
*Mariana Martines Il primo amore (1744-1812)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Abduction from the Seraglio (1756-1791)
Beethoven Piano Sonata No.14 Moonlight (1770-1827)
Carl Maria von Weber Oberon. (1786-1826)
Franz Schubert Winterreise (1797-1828)
Felix Mendelssohn Elijah (1809-1847)
Robert Schumann Liederkreis (1810-1856)
Franz Liszt Nuages gris (1811-1886)
Richard Wagner Siegfried Idyll (1813-1883)
*Clara Schumann Piano Trio in G minor (1819-1896)
Johannes Brahms Double Concerto in A minor (1833-1897)
Gustav Mahler Symphony No.3 (1860-1911)
Richard Strauss Oboe Concerto (1864-1949)
*Johanna Senfter TBA (1871-1961)
Arnold Schoenberg Pierrot Lunaire (1874-1951)
Karlheinz Stockhausen - Helikopter-Streichquartett (1928-2007)
Central Europe
Antonín Dvoák Cello Concerto (1841-1904)
Leo Janáek String Quartet No.2 Intimate Letter (1854-1928)
Bela Bartók Piano Concerto No.3 (1881-1945)
France
*Élizabeth Jacquet de La Guerre TBA 1665-1729)
**Josef Bologne, Chevalier de Saint Georges Aline et Dupré (1745-1799)
Hector Berlioz Symphonie fantastique (1803-1869)
Camille Saint-Saëns Symphony No.3 Organ Symphony (1835-1921)
*Cecile Chaminade Automne (1857-1944)
Claude Debussy La Mer (1862-1918)
Maurice Ravel Concerto for the Left Hand (1875-1937)
*Lili Boulanger Dun matin de printemps (1893-1918)
Italy
Claudio Monteverdi LOrfeo (1567-1643)
*Barbara Strozzi Che si può fare (1619-1677)
Antonio Vivaldi Lestro harmonico (1678-1741)
Giuseppe Verdi String Quartet (1813-1901)
Giacomo Puccini Il trittico (1858-1924)
Carlo Gesualdo. TBA (1566-1613)
Nordic Lands
Jean Sibelius Lemminkäinen Suite (1865-1957)
*Elfrida Andrée - TBA (1841-1929)
Edvard Grieg Piano Concerto in A minor (1843-1907)
Einojuhani Rautavaara Cantus Arcticus (1928-2016)
*Kaija Saariaho L amour de loin (1952-2023)
Classical Musics New World
*Chiquinha Gonzaga (Brazil) TBA (1847-1935)
Heitor Villa-Lobos (Brazil) Bachianas Brasileiras (1887-1959)
*Peggy Glanville-Hicks (Australia) Etruscan Concerto (1912-1990)
**Tru Takemitsu (Japan) Black Rain (1930-1996)
**Tan Dun (China) Marco Polo (b.1957)
*/**Unsuk Chin (S Korea) Alice in Wonderland (b.1961)
Brett Dean (Australia) Hamlet
The Exiles
George Frideric Handel Messiah (1685-1759)
Frédéric Chopin Polonaise fantaisie (1810-1849)
Sergei Rachmaninov Symphonic Dances (1873-1943)
Igor Stravinsky Le sacre du printemps (1882-1971)
Sergei Prokofiev Overture on Hebrew Themes (1891-1953)
*Female composers (22/80)
**Global Majority (8/80)
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Index
Petroc Trelawny is one of the best-known voices on BBC Radio Three - where after fourteen years presenting the daily Breakfast programme, he now hosts In Tune. He was part of the commentary team for BBC Televisions coverage of the Coronation of King Charles III and the funeral of Her Majesty The Queen. He has presented BBC Proms on radio and television for twenty-five years and introduces the annual live BBC broadcast of the Vienna Philharmonic New Years Day Concert. In 2023 he hosted BBC Televisions Cardiff Singer of the World for the thirteenth time. He has presented the international telecast of Eurovision Young Musician to more than two dozen countries from Edinburgh and hosted Eurovision Choir live from Gothenburg. He presents performances by the Royal Ballet shown in cinemas around the world, and anchors note-by-note coverage of the Leeds Piano Competition for Medici.tv. In 2015 he hosted the first ever BBC Proms Australia, a week of concerts and recitals in Melbourne broadcast live on ABC Radio; he has also twice hosted BBC Proms Dubai at the new Dubai Opera House. Petroc is also a frequent contributor From Our Own Correspondent (BBC Radio 4), he has written on travel, music and the arts for publications including The Observer, The Sunday Telegraph, The Spectator and Radio Times.
Raised in west Cornwall, his early career includes broadcasting in Hong Kong for the British Forces Broadcasting Service, being part of the launch team for Classic FM and London News Radio, presenting breakfast on BBC Radio Manchester, and working as a presenter for RTE in Ireland. He is President of the Lennox Berkeley Society, Luton Music and the Three Spires Singers. As well as classical music he loves books, travel, food and wine, cinema and theatre. He is a Trustee of the Hall for Cornwall, Truro and a member of English Heritages Blue Plaque panel.
Dr Gareth Moore is the author of over 200 puzzle and brain-training titles for both children and adults, including The Ordnance Survey Puzzle Book (Trapeze), Enigma: Crack the Code (Michael OMara) and The Penguin Book of Puzzles (Michael Joseph). His books have sold in excess of 5 million copies in the UK alone, and have been published in over 35 different languages. He is also a director of the World Puzzle Federation, which oversees the World Puzzle Championships, and a director of the UK Puzzle Association. Find him online at DrGarethMoore.com.Laura Jayne Ayres is a puzzle writer and author. She studied Linguistics at the University of Cambridge, and is also a published playwright. Books that she has worked on include: The Whodunnit Puzzle Book, Spydle, The Fantasy Puzzle Book, Meowdle and 'Twas The Murder Before Christmas.
