Classical Music Trivia Questions
Total Questions: 49
By the end of which Sigmund Romberg operetta has the title pupil become the King of Karlsberg?
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student prince
In which Verdi opera is the main character a hunchbacked jester?
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rigoletto
Which Edvard Grieg suite, named after a work by Henrik Ibsen, encourages you to go 'trolling'?
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peer gynt
What type of musical piece, whose name reflects its origin, was Chopin's first printed work at age 7?
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polonaise
Who composed the 'Grand Canyon' suite as well as the 'Hudson River' and 'Knute Rockne' suites?
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ferde grofé
Which composer was commissioned by Sergei Diaghilev in 1910 to score a ballet based on 'The Firebird'?
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igor stravinsky
Which instrument was Mussorgsky's 'Pictures at an Exhibition' originally written for before being orchestrated by Ravel?
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piano
What is the term for a mass for the dead, which has been set to music by composers such as Verdi?
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requiem
Who was the composer of the 'Grand Canyon Suite' that premiered under Paul Whiteman's conduction in 1931?
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ferde grofé
Who is the Norwegian composer of both the 'Holberg Suite' and the 'Peer Gynt' suite?
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edvard grieg
Which composer wrote both 'Lincoln Portrait' for speaker and orchestra and 'Rodeo' in the same year?
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aaron copland
Which Austrian composer's 'Quintet In A Major' is better known as 'Die Forelle' or 'Trout Quintet'?
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franz schubert
What is the title of one of Mozart's last funereal works?
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requiem
Which composer, known for his piece 'Clair de Lune,' orchestrated two numbers from Erik Satie's 'Gymnopedie'?
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claude debussy
In which Stravinsky ballet does an evil magician hold a group of princesses captive, involving a mythical bird?
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firebird
Who is the composer known for writing popular operettas in the 1920s, including 'The Desert Song' and 'The Student Prince'?
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sigmund romberg
In which Verdi opera does the Duke of Mantua seduce the daughter of a court jester named Gilda?
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rigoletto
Who is the French composer of 'Clair de Lune,' the third movement of 'Suite Bergamasque'?
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claude debussy
What is a long piece of music composed for a solo performer accompanied by a symphony orchestra?
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concerto
Which composers name originated from Sibbe, a 17th century Finnish peasant name?
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jean sibelius
Which Gilbert & Sullivan opera, set in Japan, had its overture constructed by Hamilton Clarke instead of Sullivan?
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mikado
In Monteverdi's opera, who is the man that went to hell and back for Euridice, a soprano character?
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orpheus
In which Saint-Saens symphonic poem do skeletons trip the light fantastic?
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danse macabre
Which opera features the characters Arnold and Walter Furst, who are depicted as Swiss patriots according to Rossini?
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william tell
Which Norwegian composer did Ibsen ask to create the music for the stage production of 'Peer Gynt'?
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edvard grieg
Which Verdi character, known for being a jester, is one of the most demanding baritone roles in opera?
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rigoletto
In Berlioz's opera, whose damnation is featured alongside the 'Dance of the Sylphs'?
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faust
Who is the composer that wrote his first symphony at age 8 in 1764 and his last, No. 41, in 1788, three years before his death?
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wolfgang amadeus mozart
What is the name of the popular Smetana opera that includes a spirited polka and a chorus in praise of beer?
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bartered bride
Who is the husband of Euridice in Peri's 1600 opera 'Euridice'?
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orpheus
Which classical composer was inspired by the painters J.M.W. Turner and Claude Monet to create the 1905 composition 'La Mer'?
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claude debussy
Which composer used the Shaker melody "Simple Gifts" in his work "Appalachian Spring"?
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aaron copland
Who composed the opera 'The Fairies', which was never performed during his lifetime and also composed 'Parsifal'?
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richard wagner
For which musical instrument did Niccolo Paganini compose 24 caprices?
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violin
Which composer did not finish his Oratorio trilogy and composed only 5 of his 6 planned 'Pomp & Circumstance' marches?
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edward elgar
Which composer wrote 'Peter and the Wolf' for a Moscow Children's Theatre?
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sergei prokofiev
Which instrument did Andres Segovia help reestablish as a concert instrument?
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guitar
In a Borodin opera, which title prince is captured by the Polovtsians?
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prince igor
What is the name of the 1829 opera by Rossini that runs for nearly 6 hours after its famous overture?
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william tell
Which composer is known for the overture 'The Hebrides,' also known as 'Fingal's Cave'?
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felix mendelssohn
Who is the hero that Rossini's 1829 opera, set in Switzerland, is based on?
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william tell
Ravel's 1922 orchestration of 'Pictures at an Exhibition' was originally a suite written by Mussorgsky for which instrument?
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piano
Who composed the extensive 4-part collection of keyboard music known as the 'clavier-ubung'?
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johann sebastian bach
What is the English title of the Lehar operetta with the German title 'Die Lustige Witwe'?
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merry widow
Which composer, referred to by Rossini as 'Our little Mozart of the Champs-Elysees,' is known for 'Gaite Parisienne'?
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jacques offenbach
In which Puccini opera set in Peking do the characters Ping, Pang, and Pong appear?
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turandot
In which Borodin opera does the title prince have a wife named Yaroslavna?
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prince igor
Which 'Bolero' composer features Concepcion's lovers hiding inside clocks in her husband's shop in the opera 'L'Heure Espagnole'?
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maurice ravel
Which 19th century composer is famous for lieder such as 'The Erl-King' and 'The Wanderer'?
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franz schubert
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