Composers Mixture Trivia

1. Franz Joseph Haydn is credited with composing more symphonies than any other composer. We don't know how many symphonies he actually wrote, but how many of his symphonies are numbered?

From Quiz Music By the Numbers

Answer: 104

104 of Haydn's symphonies are numbered. However, the number of symphonies that he completed and were published is still being disputed. People have said that he completed and published 108 symphonies.

From Quiz Music By the Numbers Part 2

Answer: 30

The "Goldberg Variations" were published in 1741 and were composed for the harpsichord.

From Quiz Composers and their Compositions

Answer: Baroque period

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) was a German composer and musician of the Baroque period. His greatest compositions include the "Brandenburg Concertos", the "Goldberg Variations" and the "Mass in B minor". During his lifetime he was not regarded as a great composer, however, there was an appreciation and revival of interest in his work in the 19th Century. Today he is regarded as one of the greatest composers of all time. The Renaissance era was 1400-1600, the Classical period 1730-1820 and the Romantic era 1780-1910.

From Quiz Right Composer - Baroque Edition

Answer: Toccata and Fugue in D Minor

"Toccata and Fugue in D Minor" is one of the most famous organ pieces to date. Since the 1970s, there has been debate over whether the attribution to Bach is accurate. "Spring" was composed by Vivaldi. "Hornpipe" was composed by Handel. "Trumpet Voluntary" was composed by Clarke.

From Quiz Slavic Soul

Answer: Carnival

"Nature's Realm" Op. 91 is the first (Nature) part, "Carnival" Op. 92 is the second (Life) part and "Othello" Op. 93 is the third (Love) part in this trilogy that explores the governing forces of our existence. "Carnival" lasts for 9 minutes and it owes its festive overtones to the flutes, oboes, clarinets, bassoons, trumpets, trombones, tubas, timpani and cymbals. Antonin Dvorak was a Czech composer who became famous for using motives from Moravia and his native Bohemia.

From Quiz Classical History Mix

Answer: Mozart

Mozart was famous as a pianist and composer of successful symphonies and operas, but died penniless, and his body was probably stolen by grave robbers for "scientific study" by anatomy classes.

From Quiz Composers

Answer: Bach

'Toccata and Fugue in D minor', is one of the most well known pieces of organ music by Johann Sebastian Bach. This is what it sounds like: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVJD3dL4diY

From Quiz Various Vacancies - Hearing Harps Humours Her

Answer: Ludwig van Beethoven

"Six Variations on a Swiss Song" (opus 34) was composed for pianoforte or harp solo. Beethoven (1770-1827) created this composition around 1790. Beethoven has composed over four hundred works, including nine symphonies, several piano works (for example "Für Elise" and "Mondschein Sonate") and one opera ("Fidelio"). Beethoven's compositions for harp are quite rare. The "Six Variations on a Swiss Song" might have been first developed for pianoforte and later rearranged for harp, or the other way round - no one is sure. Furthermore there is some incidental music for "Leonore Prohaska" (with glass harmonica, harp, two flutes, timpani, two clarinets, four horns, strings and two bassoons - quite a strange instrumentation). By the way, don't get fooled by the name of opus 74 (the "Harp Quartet"): it is a regular string quartet, but some accords are played in a harp-like arpeggio. Mozart (1756-1791) was an Austrian prolific composer. So was Hummel (1778-1831), although Hummel's fame did not last until the Twentieth or Twenty-First Century. Paisiello (1740-1816) was a prolific Neapolitan composer. He left us 96 operas and many other compositions.

From Quiz Various Vacancies: Violin Virtuosi

Answer: Polish Capriccio

Grazyna Bacewicz (1909-1969) was born in Lodz, Poland. Her father was Lithuanian, her mother Polish. Grazyna had to choose between the two nationalities, and chose the Polish nationality. Her brother Witold chose the Lithuanian nationality. The Bacewicz family was very interested in classical music. Witold and Grazyna became composers, and their brother Kiejstut was a pianist. Grazyna's first composition was a quintet for flute, oboe, clarinet , bassoon and horn published in 1932. Most of her works are for piano and violin, the two instruments she studied from her fifth year. Her solo works for the violin include "Sonata" (1941), "Polish Capriccio" (1949), "Capriccio nr. 2" (1952), "Sonata Nr. 2" (1958), and "Four Capriccio's" (1968). "Capriccio Espagnol" is a composition by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908) based upon Spanish folk tunes. It was originally composed for violin and orchestra, but later rearranged as a pure orchestral work. "Rondo alla Turca" by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)is a piano sonata. "Finlandia" by Jean Sibelius (1865-1957) is a symphonic poem originally for orchestra, later arranged for piano solo.

From Quiz Empedocles Goes Classic - Earth

Answer: She is hidden in the tomb where Radames will be buried alive

Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901) was a prolific Italian opera composer, most famous for his choirs in operas. His very well known opera "Aida" (premiered in 1871) was one of the highlights in his career. Aida is an Ethiopian princess, slave to the Egyptian pharaoh. She is secretly in love with Radames, a great Egyptian warrior. Amneris, Pharaoh's daughter, would like to marry Radames, but her love is refuted. Radames is chosen as the commander of the Egyptian army to fight against an Ethiopian revolt, led by Aida's father Amonasro. After the battle, Radames is granted a triumph ("Gloria all'Egitto" - the Triumph march) and brings Amonasro in chains. Amonasro escapes and instigates Aida to find out where Radames will battle. Amneris overhears Radames' betrayal. The High Court condemns Radames for high treason and sentences him to be buried alive. In the final scene, Radames is entombed and then finds out that Aida is hidden in the tomb. They die in each other's arms. The pyre is associated with Joan of Arc (operas by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, Michael Balfe, Arthur Honegger...), Queen Dido of Carthage (opera by Henry Purcell) or Brünnhilde the Valkyrie ("Götterdämmerung" by Richard Wagner). In one of the alternative endings to Tchaikovsky's ballet "Swan Lake", the white swan Odette drowns herself. Consumption is the fate of, among others, Violetta Valery ("La Traviata" by Verdi) and Mimi (the heroine in Giacomo Puccini's "La Bohème").

From Quiz Empedocles Goes Classic - Water

Answer: George Frederick Handel

The "Water Music" consists of three suites (F major - D major - G major), for the first time performed by an orchestra of fifty-odd musicians on a barge accompanying the Royal Barge of King George I of England when sailing down the river Thames. Some of the movements of these three suites have been used (or abused) for contemporary purposes, such as the intro of a cooking programme on an American television channel. Seeing the options I gave you, you'll have to conclude that a man named George composed the "Water Music". But which one of the four options is correct? The "Water Music" was created by George Frederick Handel (1685-1759), a German composer who settled in England in 1712. He left us at least 42 operas, 29 oratorios and 120 cantatas. Many of you will recognise the "Hallelujah" from the "Messiah" or the "Largo" form the opera Xerxes. Telemann (1681-1767) was another German composer, best remembered for his "Tafelmusik" (1733) - chamber music to accompany a meal. Zamphir (born 1941) is a Romanian pan flute player. His best known works are "The Lonely Shepherd" and "Solitude", but he has also arranged classical compositions for pan flute : the "Meditation" out of Massenet's opera "Thais" and the adagio from the concerto for oboe by Albinoni. George Michael (born 1963) is an English singer-songwriter from Greek origin. Some of his songs are "Careless Whisper" and "Faith".

From Quiz Empedocles Goes Classic - Air

Answer: Ludwig van Beethoven

Beethoven (1770-1827) is the only one of these composers who was already around in 1801. This German composer is best known for his nine symphonies, as well as his piano works "Für Elise" and "Mondscheinsonate". Both of these last works have current names that were given after Beethoven's death. In 1832, a piano critic compared the emotions conveyed by the piano sonata nr. 14 to a moonlit night on a lake near Luzern, Switzerland. The name "Moonlight Sonata" stuck immediately. Beethoven's Bagatelle nr. 25 was first published in 1867 and got the name "Für Elise" ("For Elise"). The title written on the manuscript was rather difficult to read, so chances are the title was incorrectly interpreted. The bagatelle was probably composed for one of Beethoven's students, Therese Malfatti. The French composer Claude Debussy (1868-1918) created music for the folk verse "Au clair de la lune" (translated as "In the Moonshine"), which is one of his better known works. Mike Oldfield (born 1953) is a British composer of pop music. He released "Moonlight Shadow" in 1983. He is best remembered for his albums "Tubular Bells". Brahms (1833-1897) was a German composer. His opus nr. 71 contains the song "An den Mond" ("To the Moon"). Highlights of his works are the Hungarian dances and the romantic "Lullaby".

From Quiz Boom Bang-A-Bang

Answer: Grofe

Ferde Grofe played jazz piano with Paul Whitman, and also acted as his arranger. His most notable arrangement was Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue", which he orchestrated from a composition for two pianos to the magnificent piece recorded by Paul Whitman. He was also a serious composer. "Cloudburst" comes from his best known work, "Grand Canyon Suite" which he wrote in 1931.

From Quiz The Fifth Symphony

Answer: Ludwig van Beethoven

Beethoven (1770-1827) was born in Germany. He composed his Fifth Symphony between 1804 and 1808. It is probably the most performed symphony ever written.

From Quiz Panis Angelicus

Answer: Coffee Cantata

Bach (1685-1750) was one of the most prolific Baroque composers. He is best known for his organ works (for example the Toccata and Fuga in D minor) and for his Brandenburg concerti. His "Kaffee Kantate" ("Coffee Cantata") introduces us to a dominant father and his daughter Lieschen, whose addiction to coffee irritates her father. When the father puts her to the choice to give up coffee or never to marry, Lieschen tells her father she will obey him until she marries. But meanwhile she convinces her fiancé to indulge in coffee drinking too... As for the other options: these titles are purely invented. Champagne is mentioned in another classical composition, but I doubt if any classical composer has dedicated some time to write music on the theme of oysters. Tobacco doesn't occupy a prominent place in classical music either.

From Quiz More Classical Composers

Answer: Aaron Copland

The piece was commissioned by the Cincinnati (Ohio) Symphony Orchestra for the 1942-1943 season.

From Quiz Classical Composers

Answer: Elgar

We are most familiar with this piece from our graduation ceremonies.

From Quiz Ten Yorkshire Composers

Answer: John Hebden

After the death of both parents when he was still a child, Hebden grew up in York where he composed music for a local professional orchestra. He later moved to London, where he played both the cello and bassoon in the orchestra at Vauxhall Gardens. He died in 1765.

From Quiz Birthplaces of Composers

Answer: France

Berlioz was a composer from the Romantic Period, probably best known for his "Symphony Fantastique," a programatic, five movement, orchestral work.

From Quiz Classical Music: Name the Composer 2

Answer: Ludwig van Beethoven

Born in 1770, Beethoven also wrote several works for the piano including the "Moonlight Sonata". He wrote the Ninth Symphony after he had gone deaf.

From Quiz Composer First Names

Answer: Conlon

Conlon Nancarrow (1912-1997) wrote many pieces for player piano, including a series of almost 50 'Studies'. He was drawn to this mechanical instrument because he discovered that pianists simply couldn't play the incredibly complex music he was striving to write.

From Quiz Classical Music: Name the Composer 1

Answer: Richard Strauss

Born in 1864, in Munich, he was considered the last of the German Romantic era composers. He lived through the Nazi era in Germany, and died in Switzerland in 1949.

From Quiz Ninth Symphonies

Answer: Dvorak

When Dvorak arrived in New York in 1892, he was charged by the National Conservatory's founder, Jeannette Thurber, with assisting in creating a uniquely 'American' school of composition. Remarkably, in three years, with compositions such as the "New World" Symphony and his 12th string quartet, the "American", he did indeed pave the way for his students and others to create a uniquely 'American' sound.

From Quiz Various Composers

Answer: Handel

The "Messiah" made Handel famous internationally.

From Quiz Which Composer?

Answer: Beethoven

He studied the piano along with Haydn and became deaf during his thirties. He conducted his last performance, "Symphony No. 9" on May 7th, 1824, three years before his death.

From Quiz Well Known Classical Composers

Answer: Mozart

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart wrote 41 symphonies in all.

From Quiz Lesser-Known Classical Composers

Answer: Dmitri Kabalevsky

Dmitri Kabalevsky was the honorary president of the "International Society for Music Education", a branch of UNESCO, from 1972 until his death in 1987. Another composition often played is his "Overture to 'Colas Breugnon'".

From Quiz About the Composers and their Works

Answer: Rimsky-Korsakov

Rimsky Korsakov was a captain in the Russian Navy and wrote this piece, with many others, in his spare time for his own personal enjoyment.

From Quiz Quotations By And About Composers No. 2

Answer: Beethoven

Beethoven and Rossini met, but Beethoven was not overly impressed. Beethoven also said, "Writing to satisfy the public is very satisfying, and so easy to do."

From Quiz Quotations By And About Composers No. 1

Answer: Bach

Only a genius like Bach could say something like this and actually mean it. When Beethoven was asked if he played the organ, he replied that he did when he was a youth, but he gave it up because it was too hard on his nerves!

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