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Beethoven 101 Trivia Quiz

I hope that you enjoy this quiz on one of the most fascinating musicians of all time. Perhaps you'll even learn a thing or two.

A multiple-choice quiz by sircrossen. Estimated time: 3 mins.

Author
sircrossen

Time
3 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
270,240

Updated
May 07 22

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
8 / 10

Plays
2277

Awards
Top 35% Quiz

Last 3 plays: Guest 122 (7/10), Guest 182 (3/10), caters (10/10).

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. What was Beethoven's first name? Hint

Johann

Heinrich

Ludwig

Wolfgang

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Question 2 of 10

2. Which of the following was published first? Hint

F�r Elise

Ode to Joy

Nine Variations for Piano in C Minor

Moonlight Sonata

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Question 3 of 10

3. Upon hearing the 17 year old Beethoven play, who said, "Watch this lad. One day he will force the world to talk about him"? Hint

Joseph Haydn

Johannes Brahms

Johann Sebastian Bach

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

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Question 4 of 10

4. To whom did Beethoven initially dedicate his "Third Symphony" ("The Eroica")? Hint

President George Washington

Tsar Alexander I

Austrian Emperor Francis I

Napoleon Bonaparte

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Question 5 of 10

5. Which sense did Beethoven eventually lose completely? Hint

sight

hearing

touch

taste

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Question 6 of 10

6. In Beethoven's "Fifth Symphony", the opening notes depict whose knocking at the door? Hint

Death

Fate

Despair

Satan

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Question 7 of 10

7. Beethoven's famous chorus for his "Ninth Symphony", the "Ode to Joy" is lyrically based upon a poem by whom? Hint

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Friedrich von Schiller

William Shakespeare

Wilhelm M�ller

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Question 8 of 10

8. Beethoven and Bach are often referred to as two of the "Three Bs." Who is the third? Hint

Burgm�ller

Bruckner

Bonno

Brahms

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Question 9 of 10

9. Beethoven has been credited as the bridge between the Classical Era of music and which subsequent era? Hint

Modern

Baroque

Neo-classical

Romantic

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Question 10 of 10

10. In which city was Beethoven born? Hint

Bonn

Geneva

Vienna

Salzburg

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Most Recent Scores

Apr 15 2024 : Guest 122: 7/10
Mar 06 2024 : Guest 182: 3/10
Feb 23 2024 : caters: 10/10
Feb 19 2024 : Guest 185: 10/10
Feb 17 2024 : Guest 96: 7/10

Score Distribution

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. What was Beethoven's first name?

Answer: Ludwig

According to behindthename.com, Ludwig is based on an older Germanic name, Hludwig, meaning "famous warrior." Beethoven shares his name with three Merovingian kings (usually referred to in their Latin form, "Clovis"), and three Bavarian kings.

2. Which of the following was published first?

Answer: Nine Variations for Piano in C Minor

He published it before he was a teenager.

3. Upon hearing the 17 year old Beethoven play, who said, "Watch this lad. One day he will force the world to talk about him"?

Answer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Kudos to Mozart for being able to see beyond convention and recognize Beethoven's own genius. Many musicians and music critics--including Beethoven's one-time teacher, Joseph Haydn--actually feared Beethoven's work because it relied so much upon passion rather than the mathematically precise nature consistent with the Classical style of the age.

4. To whom did Beethoven initially dedicate his "Third Symphony" ("The Eroica")?

Answer: Napoleon Bonaparte

Initially, Beethoven thought that Napoleon would bring democracy and the Enlightenment to all of Europe. However, he soon discovered that Napoleon's imperial ambitions made him little different than any other tyrant conqueror. In 1804, he so forcefully scratched Bonaparte's name from the title that it left a gaping hole in the paper. To a friend, Beethoven said of Napoleon, "Now he will crush the rights of man.

He will become a tyrant."

5. Which sense did Beethoven eventually lose completely?

Answer: hearing

As the symptoms of his deafness progressed, Beethoven oscillated between despair--"I am deaf! I shall, if I can, defy this fate, even though there will be times when I shall be the unhappiest of God's creatures. . . . I live only in music."--and defiance, "I will seize Fate by the throat. It will not wholly conquer me! Oh, how beautiful it is to live, and live a thousand times over!"

6. In Beethoven's "Fifth Symphony", the opening notes depict whose knocking at the door?

Answer: Fate

It shouldn't take much more than elementary psychology to figure that Fate would be Beethoven's arch nemesis. Fate had made him a brilliant composer, and Fate had stripped him of his most precious faculty--his hearing.

7. Beethoven's famous chorus for his "Ninth Symphony", the "Ode to Joy" is lyrically based upon a poem by whom?

Answer: Friedrich von Schiller

There is some irony in Beethoven's final masterpiece. Looking at Beethoven's life, we see more misery than anything. His youth suffered at the hands of his violently alcoholic father, and his adulthood suffered in his progressive and eventually complete deafness. And yet, he was able to compose the Ninth Symphony, with its "Ode to Joy," arguably one of the most beautiful compositions in history. How Beethoven managed to find Joy so perfectly after decades of torture is contrary to the principles of basic psychology.

8. Beethoven and Bach are often referred to as two of the "Three Bs." Who is the third?

Answer: Brahms

Johannes Brahms has been credited with synthesizing the instinctive power of Wagner with the classical perfection of Mozart.

9. Beethoven has been credited as the bridge between the Classical Era of music and which subsequent era?

Answer: Romantic

The Romantic Era rejected the mathematically rational conventions of the Classical Era and favored an emotional approach to art.

10. In which city was Beethoven born?

Answer: Bonn

While he studied and eventually settled in Vienna, Austria, he was born in Bonn, Germany, sometime in 1770 (the exact date is disputed).

Source: Author sircrossen

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor ralzzz before going online.
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