Classical Music in Films Trivia Quiz

Answer: 2001: A Space Odyssey

Richard Strauss wrote "Also Sprach Zarathustra" in 1896. Almost a century later, in 1968, the score was used in the opening of the movie "2001: A Space Odyssey". Stanley Kubrick gave us visual scenes we had never seen before, based on the Arthur C. Clarke novel.

The powerful score, the monolithic image, the mysterious mission and the rebellious computer HAL all provided an unforgettable experience.

Answer: Amadeus

"Eine kleine Nachtmusik" is a 1787 composition written by the musical genius Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Fittingly, it was used in Milos Forman's 1984 film "Amadeus". The movie depicted the life of the Viennese composer and his rivalry with the less talented Antonio Salieri.

The film won an Academy Award for Best Picture. As for the music, it has been used in other films, e.g, "The Ipcress File" and "Picnic at Hanging Rock".

Answer: Die Hard II

Jean Sibelius was a Finnish composer who wrote "Finlandia" in 1899 as a protest against increasing Russian censorship. "The Finlandia Hymn" later became one of Finland's national songs. It seems strange that this music should wind up as part of the soundtrack for the 1990 sequel "Die Hard 2: Die Harder", which also includes other typically American songs like "Love Me Tender" and "Old Cape Code". I guess while John McClane is fighting terrorism, anything is possible.

Answer: Manhattan

George Gershwin was one of America's best known and most beloved composers. He wrote the wonderful music for "Rhapsody in Blue" in 1924. Combining classical music with a jazz sound, you can almost feel the sound of New York City in the notes of the piece.

It is only natural that filmmaker Woody Allen would adopt this music for his 1979 comedy/drama "Manhattan". The film, a tribute to Allen's city, tells the story of a middle-aged, divorced malcontent and his love life.

Answer: Elvira Madigan

I'm sure very few people born in the 21st century have ever heard of the 1967 Swedish film "Elvira Madigan". It was about the love of a tightrope walker and a lieutenant who fall in love and decide to run away together. It was very slow-moving but 'all the rage' in the late 1960s, when 'artsy' movies were the 'in' thing. Far more notable than the plot was the soundtrack, especially Mozart's "Concerto No. 21" composed in 1785, and still popular to this day.

Answer: Ordinary People

One of the most recognizable pieces of classical music may be "Canon in D Major", written by Johann Pachelbel between 1680 to 1706. The notes of this beautiful piece bring a kind of tranquility and calm in a world of chaos. It was the perfect background for Robert Redford's award winning 1980 film about an average family tormented by the accidental death of one son and a suicide attempt by the other son.

Answer: Platoon

Samuel Barber wrote "Adagio for Strings" in 1936, and it was first performed in 1938 by conductor Arturo Toscanini for the NBC Symphony Orchestra for a radio broadcast. The piece was described as "full of pathos and cathartic passion", which makes it perfect for the soundtrack of the 1986 war drama "Platoon".

The film centers around a new recruit who has left school to enlist for combat duty in the Vietnam War. His idealism soon fades as he discovers that "war is hell".

Answer: 10

"Bolero", written by French composer Maurice Ravel, originally premiered in 1928 as a ballet. A bolero is originally a Spanish dance. Ravel's popular orchestral piece starts slowly and builds to a frenetic pace; perhaps that is the reason it was selected for Blake Edward's 1979 movie "10".

The protagonist, a middle-aged song writer, sees the girl of his dreams walking slowly along the beach. Despite the fact that she is newly married, he must have her.

Answer: Apocalypse Now

"Die Walkure" is an 1870 opera in three acts, written by German composer Richard Wagner. The title translates to "The Valkyrie" ("chooser of the slain"). In Norse myth, the Valkyries were young women who led heroes killed in battle to Valhalla. This serves as a backdrop for the 1979 war movie "Apocalypse Now", set in Vietnam in 1970.

The film's premise has a captain sent upriver to find and terminate Colonel Kurtz, an officer who has been driven mad by the conflict.

Answer: The Ladykillers

Boccerini's "Minuet" (3rd movement) was written in 1771 and published in 1775, to be played by a string quartet. This music is integral to the plot of the 1955 British film "The Ladykillers" (remade in 2004). The premise of the film is a music professor renting a flat from a sweet old lady, presumably so he and the other members of the quartet can rehearse Boccerini's "Minuet".

In truth, they can't play a note; instead they play a record to cover their robbery scheme.