PrepTest 144, Section 1, Question 3
"Never was anything as incoherent, shrill, chaotic and(427 more words not shown)
The author begins with the(7 more words not shown)
- Agive an accurate(6 more words not shown)
- Bgive an accurate(6 more words not shown)
- Csuggest that even(6 more words not shown)
- Dsuggest that music(12 more words not shown)
- Esuggest that one(12 more words not shown)
Reading the passage
The surprise is that this attack was aimed at Beethoven, whom the author immediately identifies as a cultural icon. His challenging works became popular much later, helped by repeated listening. That contrast shows why an initially hostile reaction need not be the final judgment on music.
What we’re looking for
Now connect the example to Schoenberg: readers should not dismiss his work just because listeners react to it in language once used against Beethoven.
Working the answers
- A
The quotation really is about Beethoven, but reporting a criticism is not endorsing it as an accurate musical assessment. Its purpose is to contrast early hostility with later appreciation.
- B
Similar words describe reactions to Schoenberg, but the author later challenges the idea that his music is disturbing merely because it is incoherent or shrill. This mistakes a reported reaction for the author's own account.
- C
One critic's dislike of a work does not establish that the author regards Beethoven's output as uneven in quality. The surrounding discussion concerns changing reception, not a comparison of good and bad Beethoven compositions.
- DCorrect
Beethoven's later standing gives the opening criticism its point: a work that initially alienates listeners can eventually be appreciated. The example makes room for a more favorable assessment of Schoenberg despite hostile reactions.
- E
We are not given a contemporary critical consensus against which to measure Kotzebue. The relevant contrast is between the early criticism and later appreciation, not one dissenter versus the other critics of his day.
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