Q1. In which year was Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov born?
A. 1824
B. 1844
C. 1864
D. 1884
Answer: B. 1844
Q2. Where was Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov born?
A. Moscow
B. Saint Petersburg
C. Tikhvin
D. Novgorod
Answer: C. Tikhvin
Q3. What was the profession of Rimsky-Korsakov’s older brother, Voin, who greatly influenced his early interest in the sea?
A. Composer
B. Pianist
C. Naval officer and explorer
D. Government official
Answer: C. Naval officer and explorer
Q1. What was the full birth name of the composer known as Johann Strauss II?
A. Johann Baptist Strauss II
B. Johann Michael Strauss
C. Johann Georg Strauss
D. Johann Franz Strauss
Answer: A. Johann Baptist Strauss II
Q2. In what year did Johann Strauss II make his debut as a composer and conductor?
A. 1842
B. 1844
C. 1846
D. 1848
Answer: B. 1844
Q3. Who was Johann Strauss II’s father, a fellow composer of waltzes?
A. Johann Strauss I
B. Joseph Lanner
C. Eduard Strauss
D. Josef Strauss
Answer: A. Johann Strauss I
Q1. In what year was Bela Bartok born?
A. 1879
B. 1881
C. 1883
D. 1885
Answer: B. 1881
Q2. Where was Bela Bartok born?
A. Budapest, Hungary
B. Vienna, Austria
C. Nagyszentmiklos, Kingdom of Hungary
D. Bratislava, Slovakia
Answer: C. Nagyszentmiklos, Kingdom of Hungary
Q3. What was Bela Bartok’s full name?
A. Bela Viktor Janos Bartok
B. Bela Istvan Laszlo Bartok
C. Bela Ferenc Miklos Bartok
D. Bela Jozsef Tamas Bartok
Answer: A. Bela Viktor Janos Bartok
Q1. In which Italian city was Gioachino Rossini born on February 29, 1792?
A. Bologna
B. Milan
C. Pesaro
D. Naples
Answer: C. Pesaro
Q2. What was the profession of Rossini’s father, Giuseppe Rossini?
A. Violinist
B. Trumpeter and horn player
C. Opera singer
D. Composer
Answer: B. Trumpeter and horn player
Q3. Rossini’s mother, Anna Guidarini, primarily worked as what before becoming a singer?
A. Teacher
B. Actress
C. Seamstress
D. Pianist
Answer: C. Seamstress
Q1. In which year was Sergei Prokofiev born?
A. 1881
B. 1891
C. 1901
D. 1911
Answer: B. 1891
Q2. Where was Sergei Prokofiev born?
A. Sontsovka, Ukraine (then part of the Russian Empire)
B. Moscow, Russia
C. Saint Petersburg, Russia
D. Paris, France
Answer: A. Sontsovka, Ukraine (then part of the Russian Empire)
Q3. What was the profession of Sergei Prokofiev’s father?
A. Composer
B. Pianist
C. Agronomist
D. Conductor
Answer: C. Agronomist
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
Q1. In which Finnish town was Jean Sibelius born on December 8, 1865?
A. Turku
B. Helsinki
C. Hameenlinna
D. Tampere
Answer: C. Hameenlinna
Q2. What was Jean Sibelius’s original full name at birth?
A. Johan Christian Sibelius
B. Johan Julius Christian Sibelius
C. Jean Julius Sibelius
D. Christian Johan Sibelius
Answer: B. Johan Julius Christian Sibelius
Q3. When did Jean Sibelius’s father die, leaving the family in financial difficulties?
A. 1865
B. 1868
C. 1870
D. 1872
Answer: B. 1868
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
Q1. In what year was Giacomo Puccini born?
A. 1850
B. 1854
C. 1858
D. 1862
Answer: C. 1858
Q2. Where was Giacomo Puccini born?
A. Lucca
B. Florence
C. Milan
D. Rome
Answer: A. Lucca
Q3. What is Giacomo Puccini’s full birth name?
A. Giacomo Antonio Puccini
B. Giacomo Michele Puccini
C. Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini
D. Giacomo Luigi Puccini
Answer: C. Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini
Q1. In which French town, near the Spanish border, was Maurice Ravel born on March 7, 1875?
A. Paris
B. Lyon
C. Ciboure
D. Bordeaux
Answer: C. Ciboure
Q2. At what age did Maurice Ravel begin piano lessons with Henri Ghys, a friend of Emmanuel Chabrier?
A. Five
B. Seven
C. Nine
D. Eleven
Answer: B. Seven
Q3. Which composer became Maurice Ravel’s piano teacher in 1889, when Ravel was just 14?
A. Gabriel Faure
B. Claude Debussy
C. Emile Decombes
D. Charles-Rene
Answer: C. Emile Decombes