Classical Music Trivial and Answers

Challenge yourself with a Classical Music Trivial Quiz!

Hard

Gustav Mahler's iconic work "Kindertotenlieder" (1904) are based on poems by a father who lost two of his children to which fate?

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Answer: Scarlet Fever
"Kindertotenlieder" is actually a collection of 428 poems by German poet Friedrich Rückert and later compiled by Gustav Mahler, which the former wrote in 1833-34 after losing two of his children to scarlet fever.

Medium

On 24 December 1781, which musical composer engaged in a musical contest against no other than Mozart himself?

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Answer: Muzio Clementi
Muzio Clementi went head-to-head with Mozart in a musical contest for the entertainment of Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II in Vienna, Austria. Ultimately the Emperor declared the competition a tie.

Medium

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky composed a ballet in 1890 which featured music later used in which Disney film?

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Answer: Sleeping Beauty
The Walt Disney Company derived some of the music for its 1959 animated classic "Sleeping Beauty" from the equally notable "the Sleeping Beauty", a ballet written by Pyotr Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) that was first performed in 1890.

VeryHard

Which of Mozart's librettists wrote the libretto to "the Magic Flute" (1791)?

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Answer: Emanuel Schikaneder
"The Magic Flute" is perhaps Mozart's best known work, and the libretto to the opera was written by Emanuel Schikander (1751-1812), a highly-recognized musician for his era.

Medium

Which of Beethoven's symphonies is known as the "Victory Symphony"?

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Answer: Symphony No. 5
Beethoven's Symphony No. 5, perhaps his best known work, has come to be known as the "Victory Symphony" due to its usage during the Allied Forces' "V for Victory" campaign during World War II.

Medium

French composer Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921) prevented which even more-prominent classical musician from becoming a member of the Institut de France?

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Answer: Claude Debussy
Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns had a real tiff with Claude Debussy - which culminated in him successfully petitioning to deny Debussy admission into the Institut de France - seemingly not due to any personal beef but rather a dislike of Debussy's musical style and younger composers in general.

Easy

Which of the following famous composers spent the last decade of his life deaf?

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Answer: Beethoven
Beethoven's hearing starting deteriorating in his late 20s, and by the time he was in his mid 40s, he was practically deaf. However, this impairment did not prevent him from composing music, albeit in lower notes than he had prior.

VeryHard

In what year was the Gramophone Classical Music Awards, one of the most-prestigious honors that can be bestowed upon a classical musician, launched?

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Answer: 1977
The Gramophone Classical Music Awards first began in 1977 and since then have been conducted annually, usually in London during the month of September. Some people consider winning a Gramophone Award even more of an accomplishment than winning a Grammy.

VeryHard

Which of the following pieces of work is considered to be the first opera ever written?

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Answer: "Dafne"
The origin of opera can be traced by to Jacopo Peri's 16th century work "Dafne". Unfortunately for the world of classical music, most of that piece has been lost.

VeryHard

Which of Beethoven's works did Austrian renowned composer Franz Peter Schubert (1797-1828) request to hear on his deathbed?

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Answer: String Quartet No. 14
Franz Schubert considered Beethoven's String Quartet No. 14 the ultimate composition. As such, shortly before his death he requested his own string quartet play the piece for him.



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