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Quiz about Classical Composers Bizarre Deaths
Quiz about Classical Composers Bizarre Deaths

Classical Composers' Bizarre Deaths Quiz


Bizarre but true deaths of the great composers.

A multiple-choice quiz by Frideswide. Estimated time: 4 mins.
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Author
Frideswide
Time
4 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
103,371
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
6 / 10
Plays
2003
Awards
Top 20% Quiz
- -
Question 1 of 10
1. Henry Purcell's wife got so tired of him staying out late at night that one evening she instructed their servant to lock him out. The consequence was that: Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. Mahler was so worried he would die, like so many composers, whilst writing his ninth symphony, that he decided to call the work a 'song cycle' instead. Which of these was it? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. How did Enrique Granados die in 1916? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. True or false, Lully died after stabbing himself in the foot with a conductor's baton?


Question 5 of 10
5. Tchaikovsky committed suicide after a letter containing what piece of information was sent to the Tsar? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. Robert Schumann went mad towards the end of his life. How did he once try to commit suicide? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. In popular myth, which rival composer is thought to have killed Mozart? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. How was the composer Alkan supposed to have died? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. Chastelain de Coucy, a troubadour, died whilst on a pilgrimage to Palestine. He had his heart sent back to the woman he had had an affair with; what happened then? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. True or false: Anton von Webern died having been shot by a German soldier just after the end of World War II.



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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. Henry Purcell's wife got so tired of him staying out late at night that one evening she instructed their servant to lock him out. The consequence was that:

Answer: Purcell caught a cold and later died from it

Purcell lived from 1659 - 1695, and was the greatest English composer of the period.
2. Mahler was so worried he would die, like so many composers, whilst writing his ninth symphony, that he decided to call the work a 'song cycle' instead. Which of these was it?

Answer: Das Lied von der Erde

'Das Lied von der Erde' translates as 'The Song of the Earth'.
3. How did Enrique Granados die in 1916?

Answer: He was on a ship that was torpedoed by a submarine

Granados died returning from a trip to New York during the First World War.
4. True or false, Lully died after stabbing himself in the foot with a conductor's baton?

Answer: True

He stabbed himself in the foot with one of the heavy staffs used by conductors of the era, contracting a fatal case of gangrene.
5. Tchaikovsky committed suicide after a letter containing what piece of information was sent to the Tsar?

Answer: He was a homosexual

The revelation was so shameful that he decided to take his own life.
6. Robert Schumann went mad towards the end of his life. How did he once try to commit suicide?

Answer: Jumping into the Rhine

Schumann died in 1856, having earlier actually signed himself into a mental asylum.
7. In popular myth, which rival composer is thought to have killed Mozart?

Answer: Salieri

The notion that Salieri might have killed Mozart was spun out into a highly successful film, Peter Shaffer's 'Amadeus'.
8. How was the composer Alkan supposed to have died?

Answer: Reaching for a book and toppling a bookcase onto himself

This is something of a myth but Alkan is supposed to have been reaching for a copy of the Talmud when his bookcase crushed him. It appears he really died by having his umbrella stand fall on him, which is equally bizarre.
9. Chastelain de Coucy, a troubadour, died whilst on a pilgrimage to Palestine. He had his heart sent back to the woman he had had an affair with; what happened then?

Answer: Her husband cooked it and fed it to her

The woman died of shock and heartbreak soon afterwards.
10. True or false: Anton von Webern died having been shot by a German soldier just after the end of World War II.

Answer: False

Webern was shot by an American soldier, after breaking a curfew to leave his house and smoke.
Source: Author Frideswide

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