Q1. In which year and location was Bedrich Smetana born?
A. 1820, Prague
B. 1824, Litomysl
C. 1826, Plzes
D. 1822, Jihlava
Answer: B. 1824, Litomysl
Q2. What was the profession of Smetana’s father, Frantisek?
A. Brewer
B. Composer
C. Violinist only
D. Teacher
Answer: A. Brewer
Q3. At what age did Smetana give his first public piano performance, playing an arrangement of an overture?
A. Four
B. Six
C. Eight
D. Ten
Answer: B. Six
Q4. Which city did Smetana attend gymnasium in during his early education, where he first encountered Mozart and Beethoven?
A. Prague
B. Nemecky Brod
C. Jindrichuv Hradec
D. Plzen
Answer: C. Jindrichuv Hradec
Q5. Who was Smetana’s primary composition teacher in Prague starting in 1844?
A. Franz Liszt
B. Josef Proksch
C. Robert Schumann
D. Hector Berlioz
Answer: B. Josef Proksch
Q6. Which major composer inspired Smetana during his studies and later influenced his symphonic poems?
A. Beethoven
B. Chopin
C. Franz Liszt
D. Brahms
Answer: C. Franz Liszt
Q7. During the 1848 Prague uprising, what role did Smetana play in the revolutionary efforts?
A. Diplomat
B. Barricade fighter in the Citizens’ Army “Svornost”
C. Spy
D. Fundraiser
Answer: B. Barricade fighter in the Citizens’ Army “Svornost”
Q8. In what year did Smetana marry his first wife, Katerina Kolarova?
A. 1849
B. 1850
C. 1851
D. 1856
Answer: A. 1849
Q9. How many daughters did Smetana have with his first wife, and how many survived her death in 1859?
A. Three; two
B. Four; one
C. Two; none
D. Five; three
Answer: B. Four; one
Q10. Why did Smetana move to Gothenburg, Sweden, in 1856?
A. To escape political persecution
B. For health reasons
C. To seek better professional opportunities after struggles in Prague
D. To study with Liszt
Answer: C. To seek better professional opportunities after struggles in Prague
Q11. What was Smetana’s first major orchestral work composed in Sweden?
A. Vltava
B. Richard III
C. The Bartered Bride
D. Dalibor
Answer: B. Richard III
Q12. In what year did Smetana permanently return to Prague after his time in Sweden?
A. 1859
B. 1861
C. 1862
D. 1866
Answer: C. 1862
Q13. Which of Smetana’s operas premiered in 1866 and is considered his most famous work?
A. Dalibor
B. The Brandenburgers in Bohemia
C. The Bartered Bride
D. Libuse
Answer: C. The Bartered Bride
Q14. What position did Smetana hold at the Provisional Theatre starting in 1866?
A. Composer-in-residence
B. Principal conductor
C. Stage director
D. Librettist
Answer: B. Principal conductor
Q15. In what year did Smetana begin to experience the onset of deafness that would become total by October?
A. 1870
B. 1874
C. 1878
D. 1882
Answer: B. 1874
Q16. Which symphonic cycle, composed despite his deafness, represents Smetana’s love for his homeland and premiered in full in 1882?
A. Triumphal Symphony
B. Ma vlast
C. Hakon Jarl
D. Prague Carnival
Answer: B. Ma vlast
Q17. On what date did Smetana die, and in which institution?
A. May 12, 1884; Katerinky Lunatic Asylum
B. March 2, 1884; National Theatre
C. October 15, 1883; his home in Jabkenice
D. April 23, 1884; Prague Conservatory
Answer: A. May 12, 1884; Katerinky Lunatic Asylum
Q18. What is the debated cause of Smetana’s death, with some sources suggesting senile dementia and others syphilis?
A. Tuberculosis
B. Heart failure
C. Syphilis
D. Accident
Answer: C. Syphilis
Q19. Smetana is often called the “father of” what in music?
A. Romantic opera
B. Czech national music
C. Symphonic poem
D. Piano polka
Answer: B. Czech national music
Q20. Which early piano work by Smetana was inspired by a romance with his cousin?
A. G minor Piano Sonata
B. Louisa’s Polka
C. Album Leaves
D. Dreams
Answer: B. Louisa’s Polka
Q21. What tragic event inspired Smetana’s Piano Trio in G minor?
A. His father’s death
B. His deafness
C. The death of his daughter
D. The 1848 uprising
Answer: C. The death of his daughter
Q22. Which string quartet by Smetana is autobiographical and titled “From My Life”?
A. No. 1 in E minor
B. No. 2 in D minor
C. In G major
D. In A minor
Answer: A. No. 1 in E minor
Q23. In Smetana’s style, what popular Czech dance form did he idealize similarly to Chopin’s use of the mazurka?
A. Furiant
B. Polka
C. Dumka
D. Sousedska
Answer: B. Polka
Q24. Which opera by Smetana premiered at the opening of the National Theatre in 1881?
A. Libuse
B. The Kiss
C. The Secret
D. The Devil’s Wall
Answer: A. Libuse
Q25. Who was a key librettist for several of Smetana’s operas, including The Bartered Bride?
A. Karel Havlicek Borovsky
B. Karel Sabina
C. Eliska Krasnohorska
D. Josef Kajetan Tyl
Answer: B. Karel Sabina
