Classical Music Trivia Quiz II - How Much More Do You Know About Classical Music?

So... you want to test your knowledge of classical music again, do you...? Here are some more classical music trivia questions that I think you'll enjoy, but will find maybe a little more challenging. Each question has four choices. Select the one choice for each question that you think is correct. You can check your answers at the end of the quiz.

Question 1:

Which composer served as director of the National Conservatory of Music in New York City from 1892-1895?

a. Antonin Dvorak
b. George Gershwin
c. Aaron Copeland
d. Johannes Brahms

Question 2:

Which composer is considered the "Father of the Symphony?"

a. Ludwig van Beethoven
b. Gustav Mahler
c. Franz Joseph Haydn
d. Christoph Willibald Gluck

Question 3:

Which one of Mozart's piano concertos is nicknamed "Elvira Madigan?"

a. Piano Concerto No. 20
b. Piano Concerto No. 21
c. Piano Concerto No. 9
d. Piano Concerto No. 6

Question 4:

How many symphonies did Franz Schubert compose?

a. 9
b. 8
c. 4
d. None; he composed only chamber music.

Question 5:

The Lark Ascending was written by which composer?

a. Edward Elgar
b. Thomas Tallis
c. Malcolm McDowell
d. Ralph Vaughan Williams

"Brain Boiler" Bonus Question:

In 1970, the American rock group "Blood, Sweat & Tears" included an arrangement of music by which 19^th century classical composer on their debut album?

a. Maurice Ravel
b. Charles Ives
c. Claude Debussy
d. Erik Satie

ANSWERS:

Question 1: A
Antonin Dvorak was director of the National Conservatory of Music from 1892-1895, and commanded an enormous $15,000 per year salary. While in the United States, he composed his Symphony No. i9 "From the New World" and his "American" string quartet.

Question 2: C
Franz Joseph Haydn, who composed 104 symphonies during his long life, perfected the four movement symphonic form that lasts to this day.

Question 3: B
Piano Concerto No. 21 earned this nickname in the twentieth century, after being featured in the film of the same name.

Question 4: A
Schubert composed nine symphonies during his short life. The score for his ninth symphony ("The Great") was not discovered until after his death.

Question 5: D
Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958) was a British composer who wrote The Lark Ascending as well as 9 symphonies and a wide variety of orchestral and vocal music.

"Brain Boiler" Bonus Question: D
"Blood, Sweat & Tears" included an adaptation of the first and second movements of Erik Satie's "Trois Gymnopedies" on the "Blood, Sweat & Tears" album.

Portions previously published at funtrivia.com under the username mkp51.

SOURCES:

Harold C. Schonberg, The Lives of the Great Composers, First Edition (New York: W.W. Norton and Co., 1970)