Sergei Prokofiev Quiz Questions and Answers
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
Q4. Who taught Sergei Prokofiev his first piano lessons?
A. Reinhold Gliere
B. His mother, Maria
C. Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
D. Alexander Winkler
Answer: B. His mother, Maria
Q5. At what age did Prokofiev compose his first opera, The Giant?
A. 5
B. 7
C. 9
D. 11
Answer: C. 9
Q6. Which conservatory did Prokofiev attend starting in 1904?
A. Moscow Conservatory
B. Saint Petersburg Conservatory
C. Berlin Conservatory
D. Paris Conservatoire
Answer: B. Saint Petersburg Conservatory
Q7. Who was one of Prokofiev’s composition teachers at the conservatory?
A. Reinhold Gliere
B. Igor Stravinsky
C. Sergei Diaghilev
D. Anatoly Lunacharsky
Answer: A. Reinhold Gliere
Q8. In what year did Prokofiev graduate from the Saint Petersburg Conservatory in composition?
A. 1907
B. 1909
C. 1911
D. 1914
Answer: B. 1909
Q9. Which composer’s Drei Klavierstucke, Op. 11 did Prokofiev premiere in St. Petersburg?
A. Claude Debussy
B. Maurice Ravel
C. Arnold Schoenberg
D. Béla Bartok
Answer: C. Arnold Schoenberg
Q10. Why did Prokofiev study the organ during World War I?
A. To compose sacred music
B. To avoid military conscription
C. For a church position
D. To teach students
Answer: B. To avoid military conscription
Q11. In which city did Prokofiev make his American debut in 1918?
A. Chicago
B. New York
C. Los Angeles
D. Boston
Answer: A. Chicago
Q12. For which opera house was The Love for Three Oranges originally commissioned?
A. Metropolitan Opera
B. Chicago Opera
C. La Scala
D. Bolshoi Theatre
Answer: B. Chicago Opera
Q13. In what year did Prokofiev premiere his Classical Symphony?
A. 1918
B. 1919
C. 1921
D. 1925
Answer: A. 1918
Q14. Which ballet company’s founder, Sergei Diaghilev, rejected Prokofiev’s early ballet Ala and Lolli?
A. Ballets Suedois
B. Ballets Russes
C. American Ballet Theatre
D. Royal Ballet
Answer: B. Ballets Russes
Q15. When did Prokofiev permanently return to the Soviet Union?
A. 1927
B. 1932
C. 1936
D. 1941
Answer: C. 1936
Q16. Which famous narrative suite for children did Prokofiev compose in 1936?
A. The Firebird
B. Peter and the Wolf
C. The Nutcracker
D. Swan Lake
Answer: B. Peter and the Wolf
Q17. With which filmmaker did Prokofiev collaborate on the score for Alexander Nevsky?
A. Sergei Eisenstein
B. Vsevolod Pudovkin
C. Grigory Kozintsev
D. Andrei Tarkovsky
Answer: A. Sergei Eisenstein
Q18. In what year did the ballet Romeo and Juliet premiere?
A. 1935
B. 1936
C. 1940
D. 1944
Answer: C. 1940
Q19. Which opera by Prokofiev, based on Tolstoy’s novel, began composition in 1941?
A. The Fiery Angel
B. War and Peace
C. Semyon Kotko
D. The Gambler
Answer: B. War and Peace
Q20. How many symphonies did Prokofiev complete?
A. Five
B. Six
C. Seven
D. Eight
Answer: C. Seven
Q21. Which of Prokofiev’s symphonies is known for its neoclassical style evoking Haydn?
A. Symphony No. 1, Classical
B. Symphony No. 3
C. Symphony No. 5
D. Symphony No. 7
Answer: A. Symphony No. 1, Classical
Q22. What was the subtitle or inspiration for Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 3?
A. Based on Romeo and Juliet
B. From the opera The Fiery Angel
C. Wartime optimism
D. For children
Answer: B. From the opera The Fiery Angel
Q23. Which symphony did Prokofiev compose during World War II, reflecting optimism?
A. No. 3
B. No. 4
C. No. 5
D. No. 9
Answer: C. No. 5
Q24. For whom was Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 7 primarily intended?
A. The Red Army
B. Children
C. Sviatoslav Richter
D. Mstislav Rostropovich
Answer: B. Children
Q25. How many piano concertos did Prokofiev compose?
A. Three
B. Four
C. Five
D. Six
Answer: C. Five