Alban Berg Quiz Questions and Answers
Q1. In which year was Alban Berg born?
A. 1885
B. 1890
C. 1875
D. 1880
Answer: A. 1885
Q2. Alban Berg was a prominent composer associated with which musical movement?
A. Impressionism
B. Second Viennese School
C. Romanticism
D. Minimalism
Answer: B. Second Viennese School
Q3. Which composer was Alban Berg’s primary teacher?
A. Gustav Mahler
B. Richard Strauss
C. Arnold Schoenberg
D. Anton Webern
Answer: C. Arnold Schoenberg
Q4. What is the title of Alban Berg’s first opera, considered a masterpiece of 20th-century music?
A. Lulu
B. Wozzeck
C. Elektra
D. Der Rosenkavalier
Answer: B. Wozzeck
Q5. Which literary work served as the basis for the libretto of Berg’s opera Wozzeck?
A. Woyzeck by Georg Buchner
B. Faust by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
C. The Threepenny Opera by Bertolt Brecht
D. Pelleas et Melisande by Maurice Maeterlinck
Answer: A. Woyzeck by Georg Buchner
Q6. In which city was Alban Berg born and primarily active as a composer?
A. Berlin
B. Vienna
C. Munich
D. Salzburg
Answer: B. Vienna
Q7. Berg’s compositional style is often described as a blend of which two elements?
A. Tonal harmony and minimalism
B. Baroque counterpoint and serialism
C. Atonality and Romantic expressiveness
D. Classical forms and jazz influences
Answer: C. Atonality and Romantic expressiveness
Q8. Which of Berg’s works is a twelve-tone composition dedicated to the memory of Alma Mahler’s daughter, Manon Gropius?
A. Piano Sonata
B. Violin Concerto
C. Lyric Suite
D. Seven Early Songs
Answer: B. Violin Concerto
Q9. How many acts does Berg’s opera Lulu consist of?
A. Two
B. Four
C. Three
D. Five
Answer: C. Three
Q10. What is the primary instrumentation of Berg’s Chamber Concerto?
A. Piano, violin, and thirteen wind instruments
B. String quartet and piano
C. Full orchestra and chorus
D. Solo cello and percussion ensemble
Answer: A. Piano, violin, and thirteen wind instruments
Q11. Which of the following best describes the structure of Berg’s Lyric Suite?
A. A single-movement work for solo piano
B. A six-movement work for string quartet
C. A three-movement symphony
D. A set of lieder for voice and orchestra
Answer: B. A six-movement work for string quartet
Q12. What significant musical technique did Berg learn from Arnold Schoenberg?
A. Serialism
B. Impressionistic orchestration
C. Fugue composition
D. Minimalist repetition
Answer: A. Serialism
Q13. Which of Berg’s works was left unfinished at the time of his death?
A. Wozzeck
B. Lulu
C. Violin Concerto
D. Piano Sonata
Answer: B. Lulu
Q14. In which year did Alban Berg pass away?
A. 1935
B. 1940
C. 1925
D. 1945
Answer: A. 1935
Q15. What is the subtitle of Berg’s Violin Concerto?
A. “The Tragic Overture”
B. “In Memoriam Gustav Mahler”
C. “To the Memory of an Angel”
D. “A Viennese Elegy”
Answer: C. “To the Memory of an Angel”
Q16. Berg’s Piano Sonata, Op. 1 is notable for being composed in which musical style?
A. Strict twelve-tone technique
B. Late Romantic tonality
C. Neo-Classical structure
D. Minimalist repetition
Answer: B. Late Romantic tonality
Q17. What is the primary theme of Berg’s opera Wozzeck?
A. Romantic love and betrayal
B. Mythological heroism
C. Social injustice and human suffering
D. Political satire
Answer: C. Social injustice and human suffering
Q18. Which of Berg’s works includes a hidden program inspired by his personal life?
A. Violin Concerto
B. Lyric Suite
C. Wozzeck
D. Seven Early Songs
Answer: B. Lyric Suite
Q19. How many songs are included in Berg’s Seven Early Songs?
A. Five
B. Six
C. Seven
D. Eight
Answer: C. Seven
Q20. Which of the following composers was a close contemporary and fellow student of Berg under Schoenberg?
A. Anton Webern
B. Igor Stravinsky
C. Claude Debussy
D. Maurice Ravel
Answer: A. Anton Webern
Q21. What is the primary source of the libretto for Berg’s opera Lulu?
A. Novels by Thomas Mann
B. Poems by Rainer Maria Rilke
C. Plays by Frank Wedekind
D. Stories by Franz Kafka
Answer: C. Plays by Frank Wedekind
Q22. Which of Berg’s works is known for its use of a palindromic structure?
A. Wozzeck
B. Lyric Suite
C. Lulu
D. Piano Sonata
Answer: B. Lyric Suite
Q23. What is the significance of the number 23 in Berg’s compositions?
A. It represents the number of his published works
B. It refers to the number of performers in his Chamber Concerto
C. It was his favorite number, often used symbolically
D. It indicates the length of his Violin Concerto
Answer: C. It was his favorite number, often used symbolically
Q24. Which instrument plays a prominent role in the final scene of Wozzeck?
A. Violin
B. Clarinet
C. Tuba
D. Piano
Answer: D. Piano
Q25. What is the title of the orchestral piece Berg composed based on themes from Lulu?
A. Lulu Suite
B. Wozzeck Variations
C. Viennese Waltzes
D. Lyric Overture
Answer: A. Lulu Suite