Camille Saint-Saens Quiz Questions and Answers
Q1. In what year was Camille Saint-Saens born?
A. 1825
B. 1835
C. 1845
D. 1855
Answer: B. 1835
Q2. Where was Camille Saint-Saens born?
A. Paris
B. Lyon
C. Marseille
D. Bordeaux
Answer: A. Paris
Q3. How soon after Camille Saint-Saens’ birth did his father pass away?
A. Within a week
B. Within a month
C. Within two months
D. Within a year
Answer: C. Within two months
Q4. At what age did Camille Saint-Saens make his official concert debut as a child prodigy?
A. Seven
B. Ten
C. Eleven
D. Twelve
Answer: B. Ten
Q5. Which composer’s piano concerto did the ten-year-old Camille Saint-Saens perform at his debut?
A. Beethoven’s First
B. Chopin’s First
C. Mozart’s in B-flat major (K. 450)
D. Mendelssohn’s First
Answer: C. Mozart’s in B-flat major (K. 450)
Q6. Who was Camille Saint-Saens’ primary organ teacher at the Paris Conservatoire?
A. Cesar Franck
B. Francois Benoist
C. Alexandre Boely
D. Charles-Marie Widor
Answer: B. Francois Benoist
Q7. In what year did Camille Saint-Saens enter the Paris Conservatoire?
A. 1848
B. 1849
C. 1850
D. 1852
Answer: A. 1848
Q8. Which prize did Camille Saint-Saens win for organ in 1851 at the Conservatoire?
A. Second prize
B. First prize
C. Premier Prix de Rome
D. Societe Sainte-Cecile award
Answer: B. First prize
Q9. What was the opus number of Camille Saint-Saens’ first mature published work?
A. Op. 1
B. Op. 2
C. Op. 17
D. Op. 22
Answer: A. Op. 1
Q10. At which church did Camille Saint-Saens serve as his first organist position from 1853 to 1857?
A. Notre-Dame
B. Saint-Merri
C. La Madeleine
D. Saint-Sulpice
Answer: B. Saint-Merri
Q11. In what year did Camille Saint-Saens become organist at the prestigious La Madeleine church?
A. 1853
B. 1857
C. 1858
D. 1861
Answer: C. 1858
Q12. Which school did Camille Saint-Saens teach piano at from 1861 to 1865?
A. Paris Conservatoire
B. Ecole Niedermeyer
C. Schola Cantorum
D. Institut de France
Answer: B. Ecole Niedermeyer
Q13. Which prominent composer was one of Camille Saint-Saens’ students at the Ecole Niedermeyer?
A. Claude Debussy
B. Maurice Ravel
C. Gabriel Faure
D. Erik Satie
Answer: C. Gabriel Faure
Q14. In what year did Camille Saint-Saens co-found the Societe Nationale de Musique to promote French composers?
A. 1867
B. 1871
C. 1875
D. 1880
Answer: B. 1871
Q15. What was the premiere year of Camille Saint-Saens’ first opera, La princesse jaune?
A. 1868
B. 1870
C. 1872
D. 1883
Answer: C. 1872
Q16. Where did Camille Saint-Saens’ opera Samson et Dalila premiere in 1877, due to objections in France?
A. Paris Opera
B. London
C. Weimar
D. Vienna
Answer: C. Weimar
Q17. In what year did Camille Saint-Saens resign from his organist post at La Madeleine?
A. 1875
B. 1877
C. 1880
D. 1886
Answer: B. 1877
Q18. Which symphony by Camille Saint-Saens premiered in London in 1886 and is known as the “Organ” Symphony?
A. Symphony No. 1
B. Symphony No. 2
C. Symphony No. 3
D. Urbs Roma
Answer: C. Symphony No. 3
Q19. During which years did Camille Saint-Saens tour the United States?
A. 1890 and 1895
B. 1906 and 1909
C. 1913 and 1918
D. 1920 and 1921
Answer: B. 1906 and 1909
Q20. Where did Camille Saint-Saens pass away in 1921?
A. Algiers
B. Paris
C. London
D. Geneva
Answer: A. Algiers
Q21. How many numbered symphonies did Camille Saint-Saens compose?
A. Two
B. Three
C. Four
D. Five
Answer: B. Three
Q22. What is the nickname of Camille Saint-Saens’ Symphony No. 3 in C minor, Op. 78?
A. “Egyptian”
B. “Organ”
C. “Youth”
D. “Rhenish”
Answer: B. “Organ”
Q23. In what year was Camille Saint-Saens’ famous suite The Carnival of the Animals composed?
A. 1874
B. 1880
C. 1886
D. 1896
Answer: C. 1886
Q24. Which symphonic poem by Camille Saint-Saens, depicting a danse macabre, was composed in 1874?
A. Danse macabre
B. Phaeton
C. Le Rouet d’Omphale
D. La jeunesse d’Hercule
Answer: A. Danse macabre
Q25. How many piano concertos did Camille Saint-Saens compose?
A. Three
B. Four
C. Five
D. Six
Answer: C. Five