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Schubert's Songs Trivia Quiz

Here's a quiz on Schubert-Lieder, some of the greatest art songs ever composed.

A multiple-choice quiz by dobrov. Estimated time: 5 mins.

Author
dobrov

Time
5 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
75,977

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
6 / 10

Plays
525

Awards
Top 35% Quiz

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. Franz Schubert was an extraordinarily talented musical prodigy, and by the age of 18 in 1815 he had begun work on the first songs of his maturity. The first of these to gain attention was set to a dramatic and fantastical ballad by Goethe. The piano accompaniment was so difficult that Schubert himself complained that he couldn't play it. What was the name of the song? Hint

Ganymed

Tod und das Maedchen (Death and the Maiden)

Der Erlkoenig (The Earl King)

Selma und Selmar

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Question 2 of 10

2. 'Gretchen am Spinnrad' (Gretchen at the Spinning Wheel) was composed when Schubert was only 17. It (eventually) became well-known for the intensity of the piano score that highlighted the sensuality of the text. It was also by Goethe - from one of his plays. Which one? Hint

Faust

Iphigenia

Egmont

Goetz von Berlichingen

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Question 3 of 10

3. In 1826 Schubert wrote two songs - 'Staendchen' and 'An Silvia' to translated texts by a British author who was all the rage in Vienna at that time. Who was he? Hint

Lord Byron

William Shakespeare

Percy Shelley

Samuel Coleridge

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Question 4 of 10

4. In 1825 Schubert composed the song which has become arguably his most famous. Oddly, its text is not original. The song came into being as 'Ellens dritter Gesang' (Ellen's Third Song), with a translated text by Sir Walter Scott. This was replaced after Schubert's death with the text that is generally sung today. What is the song in question? Hint

'Serenade'

'Der Koenig in Thule' (The King in Thule)

'Ave Maria'

'Die Forelle' (The Trout)

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Question 5 of 10

5. Schubert obviously liked the melodies to two of his songs well enough to use them in chamber works. Which two songs are they? Hint

'Die Forelle' and 'Alinde'

'Die Forelle' and 'Tod und das Maedchen'

'Der Musensohn' and 'Der Juengling and der Quelle'

'Der Musensohn' and 'Seligkeit'

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Question 6 of 10

6. There are 3 Schubertian song cycles. Two the composer composed from existing texts by one author, and the third is a posthumous compilation of songs he wrote during the last years of his life. Which one is the compilation? Hint

'Die Winterreise' (The Winter Journey)

'Schwanengesang' (Swan Song)

'Die Schoene Muellerin' (The Beautiful Maid of the Mill)

'Berlin Alexanderplatz'

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Question 7 of 10

7. When he was 19 years old, Schubert composed a short song to a text written by Franz von Schober. It goes, 'O blessed art, how often in dark hours...have you transported me to a better world!' What's he talking about? Hint

Religious faith

Drama

Poetry

Music

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Question 8 of 10

8. In 1828, the year of his death, Schubert composed the lovely pastorale, 'Der Hirt auf dem Felsen' (The Shepherd on the Rock). This song is a departure for a couple of reasons, the first being that the text is cobbled together from the work of two poets. What else is different about this song? Hint

It is sung a cappela

It is scored for soprano and chorus

It is scored for clarinet and piano

It is scored for piano and violin

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Question 9 of 10

9. At the end of Thomas Mann's 'The Magic Mountain', we see the hero, Hans Casdorp, running across a World War I battlefield while singing a song from 'Die Winterreise'. It is certainly the best-known of the songs from that cycle and a standard in recital. What song is he singing? Hint

'Letzte Hoffnung ' (Last Hope)

'Gefrorne Traene' (Frozen Tears)

'Der Leiermann' (The Organ-grinder)

'Der Lindenbaum' (The Linden Tree)

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Question 10 of 10

10. 'Der Leiermann' (The Organ-grinder) is the last and the saddest of the songs in the 'Winterreise' Song cycle. A lot of people think that Schubert took this song quite personally. Why? Hint

He loved the organ above all other instruments

He wrote the text himself

He felt himself to be more entertainer than artist

He was poor and obscure for most of his life

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

Answer: Der Erlkoenig (The Earl King)

'Who rides so late through night and wind?' Although his friends loved it, most people who heard it thought it a little bizarre. Not that many people did - the first collection of Schubert's songs was published in 1821.

Answer: Faust

'The touch of his hand...and oh! his kiss!' Whew.

3. In 1826 Schubert wrote two songs - 'Staendchen' and 'An Silvia' to translated texts by a British author who was all the rage in Vienna at that time. Who was he?

Answer: William Shakespeare

Shakespeare had become greatly admired in the German-speaking lands in the last quarter of the 18th century due to the 'Sturm und Drang' movement and its emphasis on drama and individuality. 'Staendchen' (Hark, hark, the lark) is from 'Cymbeline' and 'An Silvia' (Who is Sylvia) from 'Two Gentlemen of Verona'.

Answer: 'Ave Maria'

An unknown someone replaced the original text with the Latin text of the Hail Mary at some time after Schubert's death. No one knows why.

5. Schubert obviously liked the melodies to two of his songs well enough to use them in chamber works. Which two songs are they?

Answer: 'Die Forelle' and 'Tod und das Maedchen'

The melody to 'Die Forelle' was incorporated into the 'Trout' quintet (1818) and 'Tod und das Maedchen' became the Quartet in D minor (1827).

Answer: 'Schwanengesang' (Swan Song)

Both 'Die Schoene Muellerin'(20 songs)and 'Der Winterreise' (24 songs) were from texts by Wilhelm Mueller (no pun intended). Schwanengesang consists of 14 songs from various texts, including ones by Heine. His publisher was the compiler.

Answer: Music

The song is the deeply beautiful 'An die Musik' (To Music) (1817).

Answer: It is scored for clarinet and piano

The text is taken from work by Wilhelm Mueller (again) and Helmina von Chezy.

Answer: 'Der Lindenbaum' (The Linden Tree)

The song 'Der Lindenbaum' must have held huge significance for Mann, because in the novel it expresses Casdorp's journey through the mountain to a higher plain.

10. 'Der Leiermann' (The Organ-grinder) is the last and the saddest of the songs in the 'Winterreise' Song cycle. A lot of people think that Schubert took this song quite personally. Why?

Answer: He was poor and obscure for most of his life

'Und sein kliener Teller bleibt ihm immer leer...''And his little dish is always empty...' Although at the time of his death at the age of 31 (in 1828) Schubert's star was finally on the rise, he suffered brutally from poverty and neglect for most of his life. This, however, did not stop him from being one of the most prolific and inspired composers of all time.

Source: Author dobrov

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