Q1. In what year was Samuel Barber born?
A. 1908
B. 1910
C. 1906
D. 1912
Answer: B. 1910
Q2. Samuel Barber was born in which American city?
A. Boston, Massachusetts
B. New York, New York
C. West Chester, Pennsylvania
D. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Answer: C. West Chester, Pennsylvania
Q3. Which of Barber’s compositions is considered his most famous work?
A. Knoxville: Summer of 1915
B. Adagio for Strings
C. Vanessa
D. School for Scandal Overture
Answer: B. Adagio for Strings
Q1. In which year was Luigi Boccherini born?
A. 1740
B. 1743
C. 1745
D. 1748
Answer: B. 1743
Q2. What was Boccherini’s birthplace?
A. Lucca, Italy
B. Venice, Italy
C. Rome, Italy
D. Florence, Italy
Answer: A. Lucca, Italy
Q3. Which country did Boccherini move to as a young musician to establish his career?
A. France
B. Austria
C. Spain
D. Germany
Answer: C. Spain
Q1. In which year was Aaron Copland born?
A. 1895
B. 1900
C. 1901
D. 1905
Answer: B. 1900
Q2. What is the name of Copland’s most famous orchestral work, inspired by American folk melodies?
A. Fanfare for the Common Man
B. Rodeo
C. Appalachian Spring
D. El Salon Mexico
Answer: C. Appalachian Spring
Q3. Aaron Copland is often associated with which musical tradition?
A. European modernism
B. American frontier and pastoral themes
C. Jazz exclusively
D. Classical romanticism
Answer: B. American frontier and pastoral themes
Q1. When was Georg Philipp Telemann born?
A. March 14, 1681
B. March 21, 1685
C. April 14, 1681
D. February 14, 1681
Answer: A. March 14, 1681
Q2. In which German city was Telemann born?
A. Hamburg
B. Leipzig
C. Magdeburg
D. Eisenach
Answer: C. Magdeburg
Q3. When did Georg Philipp Telemann die?
A. June 25, 1767
B. July 28, 1750
C. June 15, 1770
D. May 25, 1767
Answer: A. June 25, 1767
Q1. In what year was Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina born?
A. 1515
B. 1525
C. 1535
D. 1545
Answer: B. 1525
Q2. Which musical period is Palestrina most closely associated with?
A. Baroque
B. Classical
C. Renaissance
D. Medieval
Answer: C. Renaissance
Q3. What position did Palestrina hold at the Cappella Giulia in Rome?
A. Organist
B. Maestro di cappella (choir master)
C. Cantor
D. Archbishop
Answer: B. Maestro di cappella (choir master)
Q1. When was Arcangelo Corelli born?
A. 15 March 1650
B. 17 February 1653
C. 22 April 1655
D. 8 January 1660
Answer: B. 17 February 1653
Q2. In which small Italian town was Corelli born?
A. Bologna
B. Rome
C. Fusignano
D. Modena
Answer: C. Fusignano
Q3. What was Corelli’s primary instrument?
A. Harpsichord
B. Violin
C. Cello
D. Organ
Answer: B. Violin
Q1. In which year was Henry Purcell born?
A. 1655
B. 1659
C. 1663
D. 1667
Answer: B. 1659
Q2. Where was Henry Purcell baptized, indicating his likely birthplace?
A. Westminster
B. St. Paul’s Cathedral
C. St. Margaret’s Church
D. The Chapel Royal
Answer: A. Westminster
Q3. What was the profession of Henry Purcell’s father?
A. Court violinist
B. Gentleman of the Chapel Royal
C. Organist at Westminster Abbey
D. Composer for the theater
Answer: B. Gentleman of the Chapel Royal
Q1. In what year was Alexander Borodin born?
A. 1823
B. 1833
C. 1843
D. 1853
Answer: B. 1833
Q2. What was Borodin’s official registered parentage due to his illegitimate birth?
A. Son of a Russian serf and his wife
B. Son of a Georgian prince and a Russian noblewoman
C. Son of a military officer and a pianist
D. Son of a chemist and a composer
Answer: A. Son of a Russian serf and his wife
Q3. At what age was Borodin emancipated from serfdom by his biological father?
A. 5
B. 7
C. 10
D. 12
Answer: B. 7
Q1. In which year was Ralph Vaughan Williams born?
A. 1862
B. 1872
C. 1882
D. 1892
Answer: B. 1872
Q2. Ralph Vaughan Williams was a great-grandson of which famous naturalist through his mother’s side?
A. Charles Darwin
B. Alfred Russel Wallace
C. Thomas Huxley
D. Joseph Hooker
Answer: A. Charles Darwin
Q3. What was the first instrument Ralph Vaughan Williams learned to play as a child?
A. Violin
B. Piano
C. Organ
D. Cello
Answer: B. Piano
Q1. What was Gustav Holst’s full birth name?
A. Gustav Theodore Holst
B. Gustavus Theodore von Holst
C. Gustav Emil Holst
D. Theodore Gustav von Holst
Answer: B. Gustavus Theodore von Holst
Q2. In which English town was Gustav Holst born on September 21, 1874?
A. London
B. Oxford
C. Cheltenham
D. Liverpool
Answer: C. Cheltenham
Q3. What was the primary cause of Gustav Holst’s death on May 25, 1934?
A. Tuberculosis
B. Heart failure following surgery
C. Pneumonia
D. A fall from stage during a concert
Answer: B. Heart failure following surgery