the mozart season

Page numbers are approximate and may vary between book editions.

Section 1: Chapters 1–4

1. What is a cadenza and how many are there in Mozart’s Fourth Concerto in D?
   pg. 3
2. What is a double stop?
   pg. 4
3. What does Mr. Kaplan want Allegra to remember about Mr. Bloch?
   pg. 10
4. Why does Allegra think it will be a catastrophe if she doesn’t at least try to play the competition?
   pg. 11
5. How can you pick a violinist out in a crowd?
   pg. 19
6. What is Allegra thinking of as she is trying to go to sleep after turning pages at the concert?
   pg. 27
7. Where did Allegra’s great-grandmother Leah die?
   pg. 31
8. What is the first thing Allegra plans to do to prepare for the Bloch competition?
   pg. 41
9. What does Mr. Kaplan suggest is the first step to bring Allegra close to Mozart?
   pg. 50
10. Why does Allegra like Chagall’s Green Violinist?
    pg. 54
11. What two things does Deirdre say Allegra must do to make music her own?
    pg. 58
12. In addition to playing sections loud, what else does Allegra decide to practice in order to make the concerto her own?
    pg. 68
13. What do Allegra and Deirdre discover about the sculpture in the Rose Garden?
    pg. 71
14. What does Deirdre mean when she says, “In a way nobody was making any music”?
    pg. 75

Section 2: Chapters 5–8

1. What happened to Mozart’s music after he died?
   pg. 78
2. What does Allegra’s father believe is really inside of Deirdre?
   pg. 81
3. What does Allegra wonder about the Green Violin man?
   pg. 92
4. How were cadenzas different in Mozart’s time?
   pg. 98
5. Even though the sounds aren’t perfect, what does Mr. Kaplan think about community orchestras?
   pg. 103
6. What does Allegra do at the rehearsal that makes the second movement cadenza sound unusually beautiful?
   pg. 107
7. How does physics make playing an instrument outdoors more difficult?
   pg. 112
8. What is Allegra’s friend, Jessica’s, impression of the dancing man?
   pg. 113
9. After dancing with the dancing man, what does Jessica tell Allegra that she discovered?
   pg. 114
10. What does Allegra do after looking at the clock at 12:22 a.m. to relax?
    pg. 129
11. What will happen on Labor Day if Allegra’s mother’s orchestra is locked out?
    pg. 137
12. What do Allegra, Jessica, and Sarah’s teachers sometimes call them?
    pg. 129
13. What does the dancing man tell Allegra he has lost when she sees him at the park?
    pg. 137
14. According to Jessica, what does bamboo symbolize in China?
    pg. 142

Section 3: Chapters 9–11

1. What does David ask his parents to worry a little bit less about and notice a bit more?
   pg. 151
2. Why does Allegra think her mother saves insect’s lives?
   pg. 151
3. What insight does Allegra gain about her family by learning more about Dierdre’s life?
   pg. 152
4. What does Allegra discover about her new stand partner?
   pg. 156
5. What does Allegra say happens when you hit a wrong note?
   pg. 160
6. What does Allegra think pushed her out of bed abnormally early?
   pg. 160
7. What warning does Mrs. Kaplan give Allegra after offering her popovers and jam?
   pg. 161
8. How does Mr. Kaplan ask Allegra to play Brahms’ Lullaby?
   pg. 169
9. What gift does Allegra’s grandmother give her?
   pg. 169
10. When Allegra walks into the bathroom and looks into the mirror, what does she see?
    pg. 172
11. When the Bloch Competition is five weeks away, what does Allegra ask herself?
    pg. 175
12. Even though Allegra can’t unlearn the concerto, what does she realize she can do?
    pg. 176
13. Why does Michelangelo hammer the marble?
    pg. 184
14. What does Allegra think Steve Landauer’s notes sound like?
    pg. 190

Section 4: Chapters 12–14

1. What does Allegra tell her grandmother about the violin competition?
   pg. 192
2. Describe the cartoon of Allegra that her brother draws.
   pg. 197
3. What will Allegra not admit to anyone?
   pg. 199
4. According to Karen, how does Mozart help her fingers heal?
   pg. 206
5. What do the Bloch contestants think of Larry Ladley?
   pg. 209
6. What does Karen say to Steve in the elevator when he won’t talk to anyone?
   pg. 213
7. Why does Allegra think Steve Landauer will become a concert violinist?
   pg. 219
8. What does Allegra think of geniuses?
   pg. 219
9. What advice does Allegra’s mother give her the day of the competition?
   pg. 223
10. What advice does Allegra’s father give her the day of the competition?
    pg. 223
11. How will the violinists remain anonymous during the competition?
    pg. 225
12. What happens to violinist number two during the competition?
    pg. 227
13. When it is her turn to compete, what does Allegra picture as she begins to tune her violin?
    pg. 229
14. What does Christine think the second-prize winner’s reaction is to his prize?
    pg. 233