Q.1
Which of these nicknames for Haydn symphonies (out of the 104 such that he wrote!) is the odd one out?
  • The Clock
  • The Surprise
  • The Miracle
  • The Farewell
Q.2
Whose Ninth Symphony incorporates the choral , and as such was the obvious climactic work to the Reunification concert in Berlin after the fall of the Wall 25 years ago?
  • Brahms
  • Borodin
  • Bruckner
  • Beethoven
Q.3
Probably by coincidence, several of the greatest symphonists ( Beethoven, Schubert, Dvorak, Vaughan Williams) completed a 'cycle' of the same number of such works: what is the relevant number?
  • 5
  • 7
  • 9
  • 13
Q.4
This composer died sadly young, but not before completing a final trio of symphonies which brought his tally (in this medium alone) to 41; he had also written piano and chamber works, sacred music and opera. Many people's 'top 10' list of themes by this towering composer would probably include the opening movement, in a wistful G minor, of the 40th Symphony. Who was he?
  • Kalkenbrenner
  • Mozart
  • Schumann
  • Hovhaness
Q.5
Whose 8th Symphony is known as 'The Symphony of a Thousand' due to the massive forces required for a performance?
  • Anton Bruckner
  • Gustav Mahler
  • Hector Berlioz
  • Ralph Vaughan Williams
Q.6
There have been almost innumerable variations on the classic symphony structure, but a typical synopsis 'should' include which of these movements?
  • I : a slow introduction ; 2 : a rondo ; 3 : a minuet ; 4 : a slow majestic finale
  • I : a fast movement (probably in sonata form) ; 2 : a minuet or scherzo ; 3 : a slow movement ; 4 : an upbeat finale
  • I : a slow introduction ; 2 : a sonata in quick time ; 3 : another slow movement ; 4 : a march
  • I : a fast movement (allegro, or similar) ; 2 : a slow movement ; 3 : a minuet or scherzo ; a brisk finale (possibly in rondo form)
Q.7
Who is generally hailed as 'the Father of the Symphony'?
  • Johann Sebastian Bach
  • Franz Joseph Haydn
  • William Boyce
  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Q.8
Musical scholarship has once again come in to debunk this, but for a couple of centuries or so, people in general were quite happy to think of the as being written by which famous musical father for his child or children?
  • Leopold Mozart, for Wolfgang
  • Johann Sebastian Bach, for his numerous sons including Johann Christoph and Carl Philip Emmanuel
  • William Boyce, for his son and daugher
  • 'Papa' Haydn
Q.9
Which Russian symphonist included a movement in the style of a waltz, yet in fact with 5 beats to the bar?
  • Arensky
  • Tchaikovsky
  • Rachmaninov
  • Shostakovich
Q.10
This symphony runs to five movements rather than the conventional four, including a (funeral) march and a waltz. It is a classic of 'programme music' in that it tells and illustrates a story, thus in some ways anticipating the use of orchestral film scores in a later age. The instrumental effects are sumptuous and remarkable, in keeping with their composer who wrote an authoritative treatise on such techniques. Who was the composer, and what is the work?
  • Anton Dvorak : 'New World' Symphony
  • Mendelssohn : Das Lied von der Erde ('Song of the Earth')
  • Hector Berlioz : Symphonie Fantastique
  • Vaughan Williams : Sinfonia Antarctica
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