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Quiz about Well Known Classical Composers

Well Known Classical Composers Quiz

This should be an easy quiz to identify well-known classical composers.

A multiple-choice quiz by orlandodaddy. Estimated time: 4 mins.

Author
orlandodaddy

Time
4 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
222,054

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
8 / 10

Plays
1890

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. This Austrian composer had an Oscar winning movie bear his middle name and wrote symphonies nicknamed, "Jupiter", "Prague", and "Haffner". Hint

Bach

Haydn

Beethoven

Mozart

NEXT>

Question 2 of 10

2. This Russian composer wrote symphonies nicknamed "Little Russian", "Pathetique", and "Polish". Hint

Shostakovich

Rimsky-Korsakov

Tchaikovsky

Prokofiev

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Question 3 of 10

3. This German composer went deaf toward the ends of his life and wrote symphonies nicknamed "Pastoral", "Eroica", and "Choral". Hint

Schumann

Brahms

Schubert

Beethoven

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Question 4 of 10

4. This German Baroque composer wrote books of keyboard pieces for specific people, such as William Freidrich (one of his twenty children), and Anna Magdalena (his second wife). Hint

Bach

Beethoven

Brahms

Handel

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Question 5 of 10

5. This Austrian composer, nicknamed "Papa" himself, wrote symphonies nicknamed "Horn Signal", "Drum Roll", and "The Bear". Hint

Haydn

Beethoven

Bach

Brahms

NEXT>

Question 6 of 10

6. This German/English composer, besides his most famous oratorio, also composed "Samson", "Jephtha", and "Joshua". Hint

Britten

Elgar

Bach

Handel

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Question 7 of 10

7. This Russian/Soviet composer wrote film scores and a symphony nicknamed "Leningrad". Hint

Rimsky-Korsakov

Prokofiev

Shostakovich

Balakirev

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Question 8 of 10

8. This French composer never wrote a symphony, but is known for his programmatic symphonic pieces including "La Mer, "Images", and "Prelude a l'apres-midi d'un faune". Hint

Ravel

Debussy

Saint-Saens

Ibert

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Question 9 of 10

9. This Bostonian composer is best known for his urban music, including "On The Town" and "Wonderful Town", and he wrote a "Mass" for the opening of the Kennedy Center. Hint

Copland

Ives

Griffes

Bernstein

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Question 10 of 10

10. This New Yorker composer is best known for his rural works, including "The Tender Land", "Appalachian Spring", and "Billy the Kid". Hint

Bernstein

Copland

Thompson

Glass

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. This Austrian composer had an Oscar winning movie bear his middle name and wrote symphonies nicknamed, "Jupiter", "Prague", and "Haffner".

Answer: Mozart

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart wrote 41 symphonies in all.

2. This Russian composer wrote symphonies nicknamed "Little Russian", "Pathetique", and "Polish".

Answer: Tchaikovsky

Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky is probably most famous for his "white" ballets: "Swan Lake", "Sleeping Beauty", and his least favorite "The Nutcracker".

3. This German composer went deaf toward the ends of his life and wrote symphonies nicknamed "Pastoral", "Eroica", and "Choral".

Answer: Beethoven

Although he is considered to be a composer of the Romantic period, he is really an advanced Classical composer. His innovations in harmony and programmatic music ushered in the Romantic period.

4. This German Baroque composer wrote books of keyboard pieces for specific people, such as William Freidrich (one of his twenty children), and Anna Magdalena (his second wife).

Answer: Bach

Bach wrote music that is still being analyzed today for its complexity.

5. This Austrian composer, nicknamed "Papa" himself, wrote symphonies nicknamed "Horn Signal", "Drum Roll", and "The Bear".

Answer: Haydn

Franz Joseph Haydn wrote 104 symphonies and 84 string quartets. Other symphony nicknames are "Surprise", "Farewell", "Miracle", "La Chasse", "Sun", "Oxford", "Military", "Clock", "Little Organ", "Alleluia", "Mercury", and "Maria Theresa".

6. This German/English composer, besides his most famous oratorio, also composed "Samson", "Jephtha", and "Joshua".

Answer: Handel

You can remain seated through all of those. He switched from Italian-style opera to oratorios in 1739. The story of King George II standing during the Hallelujah Chorus of "The Messiah" is sometimes explained as him being overawed by the beauty of the music, other times that he was just stretching his legs.

In any case, the story goes that when he stood, the rest of the audience stood, and thus the tradition was born.

7. This Russian/Soviet composer wrote film scores and a symphony nicknamed "Leningrad".

Answer: Shostakovich

Shostakovich never embraced the Soviet Communist doctrine; in fact he was often at odds with the government during the Stalin Era. He wrote music for the state simply in order to survive.

8. This French composer never wrote a symphony, but is known for his programmatic symphonic pieces including "La Mer, "Images", and "Prelude a l'apres-midi d'un faune".

Answer: Debussy

The 'Prelude' is not really a prelude in the classical keyboard format. It is a full orchestral programmatic piece inspired by the Mallarme poem "L'apres midi d'un faune". It is a series of musical impressions establishing the mood and setting in which the poem then unfolds.

9. This Bostonian composer is best known for his urban music, including "On The Town" and "Wonderful Town", and he wrote a "Mass" for the opening of the Kennedy Center.

Answer: Bernstein

It may seem odd that a Jew composed a Catholic Mass, but this "Theatre Piece for Singers, Players and Dancers" was commissioned by Jacqueline Kennedy for the opening of the Kennedy Center, and John Kennedy's devout Catholicism inspired the piece.

10. This New Yorker composer is best known for his rural works, including "The Tender Land", "Appalachian Spring", and "Billy the Kid".

Answer: Copland

His early compositions were in the Modernist style of the 1920's, and his later works experimented with serialism, but his biggest popular successes were with his "American" pieces composed in a pandiatonic style.

Source: Author orlandodaddy

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