Question 72·200 Super-Hard SAT Reading Questions·Information and Ideas
By the late nineteenth century, concert publishers increasingly printed cadenzas—solo passages that performers had previously been expected to improvise. Some historians cite this shift as evidence that improvisation quickly vanished, but musicologist Amara Voss argues that publication counts alone cannot establish that inference. Comparing annotated musical parts with early recordings, Voss found that performers often preserved a printed cadenza’s opening and closing gestures while replacing its middle. Even these departures, however, usually followed the edition’s overall length and harmonic route. Annotations listing alternative transitions indicate that some variation was planned in advance rather than invented during a concert. Lesser-known players changed printed material less extensively than virtuosos did, but neither group followed the editions uniformly.
Which choice best states the main idea of the text?
For a main-idea question, determine what claim the evidence qualifies and then combine the passage’s key points rather than selecting a choice that reflects only one detail. Check scope words carefully, especially when the passage distinguishes between “some” and “most,” or between a difference in degree and an absolute difference.
Hints
Distinguish publication from use
Consider why the number of printed cadenzas may not, by itself, reveal what musicians did during performances.
Track what remained and what changed
Identify which features performers commonly preserved and which features they sometimes replaced.
Watch qualifiers and scope
Pay attention to words such as “some,” “less extensively,” and “neither.” Eliminate choices that turn limited claims into absolute ones.
Step-by-step Explanation
Identify the claim being reconsidered
Some historians infer from the increased publication of cadenzas that improvisation quickly vanished. Voss cautions that publication alone does not establish how performers actually used the editions.
Synthesize continuity and change
Performers often retained printed openings, closings, overall lengths, and harmonic routes, showing that the editions shaped performance. However, they also replaced middle passages and noted alternative transitions, showing that the printed versions were not treated as wholly fixed.
Interpret the difference between groups
Lesser-known players changed the editions less extensively than virtuosos did, but neither group followed them uniformly. The difference is therefore one of degree, not a complete division between performers who followed the editions and those who ignored them.
Select the complete summary
The first choice captures both sides of the evidence: printed cadenzas provided a shared framework, yet performers continued to adapt that framework to varying degrees.