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Which composer famously based a movement on the poem "Ode to Joy"?

• Bach
• Beethoven
• Mozart
• Verdi

Ludwig van Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” was composed in 1824, in the final movement of his last, and arguably most famous, symphony, Symphony No. 9. The premiere took place in Vienna on May 7, 1824, and despite its unpracticed and under-rehearsed presentation, the audience was ecstatic. The “Ode to Joy” text that Beethoven employed, and slightly modified, was written by the German poet, Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller, in the summer of 1785. It was a celebratory poem addressing the unity of all mankind.

Source: Live About

Ludwig is the first name of which famous composer?

• Strauss
• Mozart
• Beethoven
• Bach

Ludwig van Beethoven (baptized on December 17, 1770, in Bonn, archbishopric of Cologne [Germany]—died on March 26, 1827, in Vienna, Austria) was a German composer, the predominant musical figure in the transitional period between the Classical and Romantic eras. Widely regarded as the greatest composer who ever lived, Ludwig van Beethoven dominated a period of musical history as no one else before or since. Rooted in the Classical traditions of Joseph Haydn and Mozart, his art reached out to encompass the new spirit of humanism and incipient nationalism expressed in the works of Goethe and Friedrich von Schiller, his elder contemporaries in the world of literature.

Source: Britannica

How old was Mozart when he wrote his first composition?

• 2 years old
• 15 years old
• 22 years old
• 5 years old

Mozart was a child prodigy. His father—a talented violinist—taught him basic notes on the harpsichord. Mozart composed his first piece of music in 1761 when he was 5 years old; by age 6, he had performed before two imperial courts. In 1763 Mozart and his sister Maria Anna went on tour. For three years the siblings toured western Europe, performing in major cities such as Munich, Augsburg, Paris, and London.

Source: Encyclopedia Britannica

Which composer famously preferred to play in the dark?

• Mozart
• Salieri
• Chopin
• Beethoven

Polish composer Frédéric François Chopin was, like Beethoven, a childhood prodigy that was given accolades at a very young age. Chopin only ever played the piano in the dark, even at the 30 concerts he ever performed in his lifetime. You might think this is because he was goth before it was cool, but he was actually just quite shy and preferred to hide in darkness while performing his masterpieces.

Source: Lessonface

Whose final work was the Requiem in D minor?

• Vivaldi
• Bach
• Tchaikovsky
• Mozart

Mozart was the youngest of seven children, five of whom died in infancy. Of his own six children, only two survived. Death wasn’t an abstract idea but pursued him from birth until he died in 1791 – the most productive and successful year of his life. The Requiem in D minor was his final work; he died before completing it. He was only 35. As a Catholic, Mozart would have attended many requiems – church services for the peaceful repose of the dead. This Christian funeral rite asks an all-powerful God to accept a human soul into heaven.

Source: The Guardian

Which Beethoven symphony may be identified by its first four notes?

• Symphony No. 3
• Symphony No. 6
• Symphony No. 5
• Symphony No. 1

The Symphony No. 5 in C minor of Ludwig van Beethoven, Op. 67, was written between 1804 and 1808. It is one of the best-known compositions in classical music and one of the most frequently played symphonies, and it is widely considered one of the cornerstones of Western music. First performed in Vienna's Theater an der Wien in 1808, the work achieved its prodigious reputation soon afterward. E. T. A. Hoffmann described the symphony as "one of the most important works of the time". As is typical of symphonies during the Classical period, Beethoven's Fifth Symphony has four movements. It begins with a distinctive four-note "short-short-short-long" motif, often characterized as "fate knocking at the door".

Source: Wikipedia

What were the first names of Baroque composer Bach?

• George Frideric
• David Arthur
• Johann Sebastian
• Wolfgang Amadeus

Johann Sebastian Bach (31 March [O.S. 21 March] 1685 – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the Brandenburg Concertos; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboards works such as the Goldberg Variations and The Well-Tempered Clavier; organ works such as the Schubler Chorales and the Toccata and Fugue in D minor; and vocal music such as the St Matthew Passion and the Mass in B minor. Since the 19th-century Bach revival, he has been generally regarded as one of the greatest composers in the history of Western music.

Source: Wikipedia

Who composed the "Ride of the Valkyries"?

• Johannes Brahms
• Richard Wagner
• Claude Debussy
• Antonio Vivaldi

The "Ride of the Valkyries" refers to the beginning of act 3 of Die Walküre, the second of the four epic music dramas constituting Richard Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen. As a separate piece, the "Ride" is often heard in a purely instrumental version, which may be as short as three minutes. Together with the "Bridal Chorus" from Lohengrin, the "Ride of the Valkyries" is one of Wagner's best-known pieces.

Source: Wikipedia

What game did Mozart love to play while composing his symphonies?

• Bridge
• Billiards
• Chess
• Soccer

Mozart liked billiards and was apparently very good at it. He played often with his friend, the Irish tenor Michael Kelly, and almost always won. (Kelly sang Don Basilio and Don Curzio in the first performance of Figaro in 1786). When he couldn’t find a partner he would play by himself as he indicates in this 1791 letter to his wife. The opera he refers to is The Magic Flute: "As soon as you were gone I played two games of billiards with Herr von Mozart who wrote the opera for Schikaneder’s theatre…then I had [my servant] bring a black coffee, to which I smoked a glorious pipe of tobacco…” A billiard table with five balls and 12 cues was on Mozart's estate when he died in 1791.

Source: WQXR

Which orchestral piece by Edvard Grieg is used in many popular films?

• Morning Mood
• Clair de Lune
• Swan Lake Suite
• Ride of the Valkyries

Edvard Grieg is considered to be Norway's greatest composer. During his career, he wrote piano concerts, music for plays, sonatas, songs, folk songs, and much more. Grieg's music is closely linked to Norwegian folk music, and folk songs and tunes were important sources of inspiration for him. This made him in many ways an exponent of national romanticism in music. The music Edvard Grieg wrote for Henrik Ibsen's famous play Peer Gynt is probably his best-known work. Morning Mood, In the Hall of the Mountain King and Solveig’s Song stand out as the most famous pieces, and both Morning Mood and In the Hall of the Mountain King have been used countless times in songs, films, and TV programs.

Source: Visit Bergen

Which of these composers was called "The Spaniard"?

• Bach
• Vivaldi
• Beethoven
• Chopin

Beethoven had a Spanish grandmother. It was no coincidence that his neighbors in Vienna knew him as “The Spaniard.” His dark complexion, short stature compared with the average Germanic type, and turbulent temperament, all contributed to the moniker. But the main reason for Ludwig Van Beethoven’s “Spanishness” was in his genes. His maternal grandmother, María Josefa Poll, was either born south of the Pyrenees or descended from a Spanish family who undertook the journey north during the War of Spanish Succession (1701-1714).

Source: English El Pais

Which iconic composer conducted at the opening of Carnegie Hall in 1891?

• Igor Stravinsky
• Claude Debussy
• Pyotr Tchaikovsky
• Johannes Brahms

Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th and 57th Streets. The Music Hall officially opened on May 5, 1891, with a rendition of the Old 100th hymn, a speech by Episcopal bishop Henry C. Potter, and a concert conducted by Walter Damrosch and Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Tchaikovsky considered the auditorium "unusually impressive and grand" when "illuminated and filled with an audience". The New York Herald praised the auditorium's acoustical qualities, saying "each note was heard".

Source: Wikipedia

In the "Peanuts" comic strip, who is Schroeder's favorite composer?

• Mozart
• Beethoven
• Chopin
• Bach

Schroeder often played music by Beethoven, his favorite composer, though in earlier strips, he also listened to and played other composers' pieces, particularly Brahms. Schulz once said that Brahms was his own favorite composer and originally planned to depict him as Schroeder's idol, but decided that Beethoven sounded "funnier".

Source: Wikipedia