Edvard Grieg Quiz Questions and Answers
Q1. In what year was Edvard Grieg born?
A. 1840
B. 1843
C. 1845
D. 1847
Answer: B. 1843
Q2. Where was Edvard Grieg born?
A. Bergen
B. Oslo
C. Copenhagen
D. Leipzig
Answer: A. Bergen
Q3. What was the occupation of Edvard Grieg’s father, Alexander Grieg?
A. Composer
B. Merchant and British Vice-Consul
C. Violinist
D. Music teacher
Answer: B. Merchant and British Vice-Consul
Q4. From what Scottish clan did Edvard Grieg’s family originate?
A. Clan Gregor
B. Clan Campbell
C. Clan MacDonald
D. Clan Stewart
Answer: A. Clan Gregor
Q5. Who provided Edvard Grieg’s first piano lessons starting at age six?
A. Ole Bull
B. His father, Alexander
C. His mother, Gesine Hagerup
D. A local tutor in Bergen
Answer: C. His mother, Gesine Hagerup
Q6. At what age did Edvard Grieg meet Norwegian violinist Ole Bull, who recommended his conservatory education?
A. 12
B. 15
C. 18
D. 20
Answer: B. 15
Q7. Which conservatory did Edvard Grieg attend starting in 1858?
A. Paris Conservatory
B. Vienna Conservatory
C. Leipzig Conservatory
D. Berlin Conservatory
Answer: C. Leipzig Conservatory
Q8. What serious health issue did Edvard Grieg suffer during his time at the Leipzig Conservatory?
A. Tuberculosis
B. Pleurisy
C. Rheumatism
D. Hearing loss
Answer: B. Pleurisy
Q9. Which composers’ traditions primarily influenced Grieg during his Leipzig studies?
A. Mendelssohn and Schumann
B. Beethoven and Mozart
C. Wagner and Liszt
D. Brahms and Chopin
Answer: A. Mendelssohn and Schumann
Q10. In which city did Edvard Grieg meet composer Rikard Nordraak in 1863, sparking his interest in Norwegian folk music?
A. Bergen
B. Oslo
C. Copenhagen
D. Rome
Answer: C. Copenhagen
Q11. What society did Edvard Grieg co-found in Copenhagen in 1864–65 to promote young Scandinavian composers?
A. Nordiska
B. Euterpe
C. Harmonia
D. Folkens
Answer: B. Euterpe
Q12. Who was Edvard Grieg’s wife, whom he married in 1867?
A. His childhood friend from Bergen
B. A fellow student from Leipzig
C. His first cousin, Nina Hagerup
D. A Danish soprano from Copenhagen
Answer: C. His first cousin, Nina Hagerup
Q13. In what key is Edvard Grieg’s famous Piano Concerto, composed in 1868?
A. A minor
B. E major
C. C minor
D. G major
Answer: A. A minor
Q14. For which playwright’s work did Edvard Grieg compose incidental music in the 1870s, including “In the Hall of the Mountain King”?
A. August Strindberg
B. Henrik Ibsen
C. Bjornstjerne Bjornson
D. Knut Hamsun
Answer: B. Henrik Ibsen
Q15. What financial support did the Norwegian government provide to Edvard Grieg in 1874?
A. An annual stipend of 1,600 crowns
B. A one-time grant for travel
C. Ownership of a concert hall
D. A lifetime pension for his family
Answer: A. An annual stipend of 1,600 crowns
Q16. Where did Edvard Grieg build his home, Troldhaugen, in 1885?
A. In Oslo
B. Near Bergen
C. In Copenhagen
D. In Leipzig
Answer: B. Near Bergen
Q17. Which famous composer sight-read Grieg’s Piano Concerto and offered orchestration advice during a meeting in Rome in 1870?
A. Richard Wagner
B. Johannes Brahms
C. Franz Liszt
D. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Answer: C. Franz Liszt
Q18. What position did Edvard Grieg hold from 1880 to 1882?
A. Conductor of the Oslo Philharmonic
B. Music director of the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra
C. Professor at the Leipzig Conservatory
D. Royal composer to the Danish court
Answer: B. Music director of the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra
Q19. For which event did Edvard Grieg compose a funeral march in 1866?
A. The death of his mother
B. Norway’s independence celebrations
C. The death of Rikard Nordraak
D. A state funeral in Copenhagen
Answer: C. The death of Rikard Nordraak
Q20. Which suite, originally written for piano in 1884 and later arranged for strings, honors the playwright Ludvig Holberg?
A. Peer Gynt Suite
B. Holberg Suite, Op. 40
C. Norwegian Dances Suite
D. Lyric Suite
Answer: B. Holberg Suite, Op. 40
Q21. How many books of Lyric Pieces did Edvard Grieg compose between 1867 and 1901?
A. Five
B. Seven
C. Ten
D. Twelve
Answer: C. Ten
Q22. What is the opus number of Grieg’s String Quartet in G minor?
A. Op. 27
B. Op. 28
C. Op. 30
D. Op. 40
Answer: A. Op. 27
Q23. Which song cycle by Grieg, Op. 67, sets poems by Norwegian poet Arne Garborg?
A. Landkjenning
B. Haugtussa
C. Solveig’s Song
D. Four Poems by Henrik Ibsen
Answer: B. Haugtussa
Q24. In what year did Edvard Grieg receive an honorary doctorate from the University of Cambridge?
A. 1888
B. 1890
C. 1894
D. 1907
Answer: C. 1894
Q25. What was the cause of Edvard Grieg’s death on September 4, 1907?
A. Pneumonia
B. Heart failure
C. A fall at Troldhaugen
D. Tuberculosis
Answer: B. Heart failure