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
Q1. In which year was Anton Bruckner born?
A. 1814
B. 1824
C. 1834
D. 1844
Answer: B. 1824
Q2. What was the profession of Anton Bruckner’s father?
A. Composer
B. Organist
C. Schoolmaster
D. Choir director
Answer: C. Schoolmaster
Q3. At what age did Bruckner begin learning to play the organ?
A. Around 5
B. Around 10
C. Around 15
D. Around 20
Answer: A. Around 5
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
Q1. In what year was Tomaso Albinoni born?
A. 1661
B. 1671
C. 1681
D. 1691
Answer: B. 1671
Q2. Where was Tomaso Albinoni born and raised?
A. Florence
B. Milan
C. Venice
D. Rome
Answer: C. Venice
Q3. What was the profession of Albinoni’s father, Antonio?
A. Violin maker
B. Opera impresario
C. Paper merchant
D. Church organist
Answer: C. Paper merchant
Q1. In what year was Carl Maria von Weber born?
A. 1770
B. 1786
C. 1792
D. 1800
Answer: B. 1786
Q2. Where was Carl Maria von Weber baptized, and what additional name was added to his at that time?
A. Salzburg; Friedrich
B. Vienna; Ernst
C. Eutin; Maria
D. Munich; Anton
Answer: C. Eutin; Maria
Q3. What was the profession of Carl Maria von Weber’s father, Franz Anton?
A. Composer
B. Violinist and theater director
C. Opera singer
D. Piano teacher
Answer: B. Violinist and theater director