Q1. In what year was Samuel Barber born?
A. 1908
B. 1910
C. 1906
D. 1912
Answer: B. 1910
Q2. Samuel Barber was born in which American city?
A. Boston, Massachusetts
B. New York, New York
C. West Chester, Pennsylvania
D. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Answer: C. West Chester, Pennsylvania
Q3. Which of Barber’s compositions is considered his most famous work?
A. Knoxville: Summer of 1915
B. Adagio for Strings
C. Vanessa
D. School for Scandal Overture
Answer: B. Adagio for Strings
Q4. Adagio for Strings was originally written as the slow movement of which orchestral work?
A. String Quartet, Op. 11
B. Symphony No. 5
C. Symphony No. 11
D. Cello Concerto
Answer: A. String Quartet, Op. 11
Q5. In what year did Barber die?
A. 1980
B. 1981
C. 1982
D. 1983
Answer: B. 1981
Q6. Where did Barber study music composition?
A. Juilliard School, New York
B. Berklee College of Music, Boston
C. Curtis Institute of Music, Philadelphia
D. Manhattan School of Music, New York
Answer: C. Curtis Institute of Music, Philadelphia
Q7. Samuel Barber was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Music in what year?
A. 1933
B. 1946
C. 1958
D. 1963
Answer: C. 1958
Q8. Which opera by Barber won him the Pulitzer Prize?
A. A Hand of Bridge
B. Vanessa
C. The School for Scandal
D. Summer Dreams
Answer: B. Vanessa
Q9. Adagio for Strings was famously performed at the funeral of which U.S. President?
A. John F. Kennedy
B. Harry S. Trueman
C. Dwight D. Eisenhower
D. Harry S. Truman
Answer: A. John F. Kennedy
Q10. What is the primary instrument grouping for which Adagio for Strings is composed?
A. String quartet
B. Piano solo
C. String orchestra
D. Wind ensemble
Answer: C. String orchestra
Q11. In what year was Adagio for Strings performed at President Kennedy’s funeral?
A. 1960
B. 1961
C. 1962
D. 1963
Answer: D. 1963
Q12. Barber’s “Knoxville: Summer of 1915” is set to words by which American author?
A. James Agee
B. Carson McCullers
C. Flannery O’Connor
D. William Faulkner
Answer: A. James Agee
Q13. How many acts does Barber’s “Vanessa” have?
A. Two
B. Three
C. Four
D. Five
Answer: B. Three
Q14. In what year did “Vanessa” premiere?
A. 1956
B. 1957
C. 1958
D. 1960
Answer: C. 1958
Q15. Samuel Barber’s Cello Concerto was written for which renowned cellist?
A. Pablo Casals
B. Mstislav Rostropovich
C. Raya Garbousova
D. Yo-Yo Ma
Answer: C. Raya Garbousova
Q16. How many symphonies did Samuel Barber compose?
A. One
B. Two
C. Three
D. Four
Answer: B. Two
Q17. Samuel Barber’s “School for Scandal” Overture was inspired by which literary work?
A. A Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare
B. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
C. The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde
D. The School for Scandal by Richard Brinsley Sheridan
Answer: D. The School for Scandal by Richard Brinsley Sheridan
Q18. Barber composed a famous “Essay” series. How many Essays did he compose?
A. Two
B. Three
C. Four
D. Five
Answer: B. Three
Q19. The “First Essay for Orchestra” by Barber was completed in what year and premiered?
A. 1936
B. 1937
C. 1938
D. 1949
Answer: C. 1938
Q20. Samuel Barber received a fellowship to which prestigious European institution?
A. Royal Academy of Music, London
B. American Academy in Rome
C. Conservatoire de Paris
D. Berlin State Conservatory
Answer: B. American Academy in Rome
Q21. In which country was the American Academy, where Barber spent formative years?
A. Italy
B. France
C. Germany
D. Austria
Answer: A. Italy
Q22. Barber’s “Agnus Dei” is a vocal arrangement of which instrumental work?
A. Essay for Orchestra No. 1
B. Adagio for Strings
C. Knoxville: Summer of 1915
D. School for Scandal Overture
Answer: B. Adagio for Strings
Q23. Samuel Barber’s work is often characterized by which musical quality?
A. Twelve-tone serialism and atonality
B. Minimalism and repetition
C. Melodic richness and Romanticism
D. Complex polytonality
Answer: C. Melodic richness and Romanticism
Q24. What was Barber’s relationship with modernist compositional techniques?
A. He fully embraced twelve-tone technique
B. He rejected all modern approaches
C. He maintained traditional tonality and resisted twelve-tone serialism
D. He exclusively used chance operations
Answer: C. He maintained traditional tonality and resisted twelve-tone serialism
Q25. In which year was Barber appointed to teach at the Curtis Institute?
A. 1933
B. 1939
C. 1945
D. 1950
Answer: B. 1939
