Classical Music Trivia Questions
Total Questions: 181
Which classical composer was inspired by the painters J.M.W. Turner and Claude Monet to create the 1905 composition 'La Mer'?
Hard
Click to reveal answer
claude debussy
Which composer used the Shaker melody "Simple Gifts" in his work "Appalachian Spring"?
Hard
Click to reveal answer
aaron copland
Who composed the opera 'The Fairies', which was never performed during his lifetime and also composed 'Parsifal'?
Hard
Click to reveal answer
richard wagner
For which musical instrument did Niccolo Paganini compose 24 caprices?
Hard
Click to reveal answer
violin
Which composer did not finish his Oratorio trilogy and composed only 5 of his 6 planned 'Pomp & Circumstance' marches?
Hard
Click to reveal answer
edward elgar
Which composer wrote 'Peter and the Wolf' for a Moscow Children's Theatre?
Hard
Click to reveal answer
sergei prokofiev
Which instrument did Andres Segovia help reestablish as a concert instrument?
Hard
Click to reveal answer
guitar
In a Borodin opera, which title prince is captured by the Polovtsians?
Hard
Click to reveal answer
prince igor
What is the name of the 1829 opera by Rossini that runs for nearly 6 hours after its famous overture?
Hard
Click to reveal answer
william tell
Which composer is known for the overture 'The Hebrides,' also known as 'Fingal's Cave'?
Hard
Click to reveal answer
felix mendelssohn
Who is the hero that Rossini's 1829 opera, set in Switzerland, is based on?
Hard
Click to reveal answer
william tell
Ravel's 1922 orchestration of 'Pictures at an Exhibition' was originally a suite written by Mussorgsky for which instrument?
Hard
Click to reveal answer
piano
Who composed the extensive 4-part collection of keyboard music known as the 'clavier-ubung'?
Hard
Click to reveal answer
johann sebastian bach
What is the English title of the Lehar operetta with the German title 'Die Lustige Witwe'?
Hard
Click to reveal answer
merry widow
Which composer, referred to by Rossini as 'Our little Mozart of the Champs-Elysees,' is known for 'Gaite Parisienne'?
Hard
Click to reveal answer
jacques offenbach
In which Puccini opera set in Peking do the characters Ping, Pang, and Pong appear?
Hard
Click to reveal answer
turandot
In which Borodin opera does the title prince have a wife named Yaroslavna?
Hard
Click to reveal answer
prince igor
Which 'Bolero' composer features Concepcion's lovers hiding inside clocks in her husband's shop in the opera 'L'Heure Espagnole'?
Hard
Click to reveal answer
maurice ravel
Which 19th century composer is famous for lieder such as 'The Erl-King' and 'The Wanderer'?
Hard
Click to reveal answer
franz schubert
Who was the composer that supervised the recording of his own opera 'Pagliacci' in 1907?
Very Hard
Click to reveal answer
ruggero leoncavallo
Which composer is known for the 1896 opera 'La boheme' that features 'Musetta's Waltz'?
Very Hard
Click to reveal answer
giacomo puccini
For the 50th anniversary of which city's unification did Bela Bartok write his 1923 'Dance Suite'?
Very Hard
Click to reveal answer
budapest
Which composer's work, 'Tosca', featured a passionate performance by Maria Callas?
Very Hard
Click to reveal answer
giacomo puccini
Which composer's operas feature bass-baritone James Morris as the widely regarded finest contemporary Wotan?
Very Hard
Click to reveal answer
richard wagner
Which character, the son of Parsifal, is the subject of an opera by Wagner?
Very Hard
Click to reveal answer
lohengrin
In which Tchaikovsky opera does the character Tatyana fall for the aloof and sophisticated title character?
Very Hard
Click to reveal answer
eugene onegin
Which composer wrote 'Gloriana,' a piece for Elizabeth II's coronation that focused on Elizabeth I and Essex?
Very Hard
Click to reveal answer
benjamin britten
Which Russian composer and pianist passed away in Beverly Hills on March 28, 1943?
Very Hard
Click to reveal answer
sergei rachmaninoff
Which composer completed the opera 'Boris Godunov'?
Very Hard
Click to reveal answer
modest mussorgsky
Which Norwegian composer was sometimes referred to as 'The Chopin of the North'?
Very Hard
Click to reveal answer
edvard grieg
What is the nickname of Mozart's Symphony No. 41 and also the name of one of the movements of Holst's 'The Planets'?
Very Hard
Click to reveal answer
jupiter
Who is the composer of the opera 'Goya', which he wrote for Placido Domingo, and also the composer of 'Amahl and the Night Visitors'?
Very Hard
Click to reveal answer
gian carlo menotti
Which composer had his picture and an excerpt from his 'Leningrad Symphony' featured on a USSR stamp in 1976?
Very Hard
Click to reveal answer
dmitri shostakovich
Which composer's work was reorchestrated by Rimsky-Korsakov, with the reorchestration of 'A Night on Bald Mountain' debuting posthumously?
Very Hard
Click to reveal answer
modest mussorgsky
Which Johann Strauss operetta, initially coolly received in 1874, saw 171 productions in Germany within six years?
Very Hard
Click to reveal answer
die fledermaus
Which Italian composer became famous in 1842 with the premiere of his opera 'Nabucco'?
Very Hard
Click to reveal answer
giuseppe verdi
In which capital city was the Court Opera renamed to Staatsoper in 1918?
Very Hard
Click to reveal answer
vienna
What name, derived from his hometown, is the 16th-century composer of the 'Mass of Pope Marcellus II', Pierluigi, better known by?
Very Hard
Click to reveal answer
palestrina
What type of Polish folk dance did Chopin write over 50 of, performed by either 4 or 8 couples?
Very Hard
Click to reveal answer
mazurka
Which composer of 'Pomp And Circumstance' wrote the song cycle 'Sea Pictures' for English contralto Dame Clara Butt?
Very Hard
Click to reveal answer
edward elgar
Which composer, also known for his daytime profession as a chemistry professor, took years to complete 'Prince Igor'?
Very Hard
Click to reveal answer
alexander borodin
Which composer wrote the original version of 'Boris Godunov' that orchestras are now playing instead of the edited version by Rimsky-Korsakov?
Very Hard
Click to reveal answer
modest mussorgsky
What is the name of the opera where Mozart's sister-in-law was the first to perform as the Queen of the Night?
Very Hard
Click to reveal answer
magic flute
Who composed 'The Tales of Hoffmann,' his last and greatest work?
Very Hard
Click to reveal answer
jacques offenbach
Which Norwegian composer, known for his 'Peer Gynt' suites, was nicknamed 'The Chopin of the North'?
Very Hard
Click to reveal answer
edvard grieg
What French court dance did composers like Haydn and Mozart establish as the third movement of the symphony?
Very Hard
Click to reveal answer
minuet
Which composer of 'Finlandia' created the 1892 tone poem 'En Saga' that evokes the mood of Scandinavian sagas?
Very Hard
Click to reveal answer
jean sibelius
Which composer created the set of 5 marches known as 'Pomp and Circumstance', with the first march being the most famous?
Very Hard
Click to reveal answer
edward elgar
Which Russian composer is known for the popular Polovitzian dances from his 1890 opera 'Prince Igor'?
Very Hard
Click to reveal answer
alexander borodin
Which composer is Birgit Nilsson best known for performing heroic roles in their operas?
Very Hard
Click to reveal answer
richard wagner
Which composer, who achieved success with 'Pelleas & Melisande', later considered writing an opera based on 'As You Like It'?
Very Hard
Click to reveal answer
claude debussy
Which wind instrument did James Galway transcribe numerous works for, including Vivaldi's 'Four Seasons'?
Very Hard
Click to reveal answer
flute
Who enters on a swan-drawn boat after Elsa prays for a hero in the opera?
Very Hard
Click to reveal answer
lohengrin
Which Soviet-Armenian composer wrote the famous 'Sabre Dance' from the ballet 'Gayane'?
Very Hard
Click to reveal answer
aram khachaturian
Which composer included a quodlibet, a blend of popular tunes, in his work 'Goldberg Variations'?
Very Hard
Click to reveal answer
johann sebastian bach
Who is the composer who wrote both the text and music for the 3-act opera 'Tristan And Isolde'?
Very Hard
Click to reveal answer
richard wagner
Who is the composer known for writing six concertos for orchestra that were dedicated to the Margrave of Brandenburg?
Very Hard
Click to reveal answer
johann sebastian bach
Which Baroque composer is best known for the violin concertos collectively titled 'The Four Seasons'?
Very Hard
Click to reveal answer
antonio vivaldi
Who is the composer of 'Faust' and the Vatican National Anthem created in 1869?
Very Hard
Click to reveal answer
charles gounod
What is the title of the Johann Strauss operetta whose German name translates to 'The Bat'?
Very Hard
Click to reveal answer
die fledermaus