FREE! Click here to Join FunTrivia. Thousands of games, quizzes, and lots more!
Quiz about The Dirt on Famous Composers
Quiz about The Dirt on Famous Composers

The Dirt on Famous Composers Trivia Quiz


So you know your composers? You've memorized birth and death dates, you know every piece of music there is, you think you're pretty hot. But do you know anything REALLY interesting about them? Only attempt if you know something about music history.

A multiple-choice quiz by Garbanzo. Estimated time: 5 mins.
  1. Home
  2. »
  3. Quizzes
  4. »
  5. Music Trivia
  6. »
  7. Classical Music
  8. »
  9. Composers Mixture

Author
Garbanzo
Time
5 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
23,364
Updated
Sep 03 23
# Qns
15
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
9 / 15
Plays
7399
Awards
Editor's Choice
Last 3 plays: tiye (12/15), Guest 15 (10/15), dgermenis (10/15).
- -
Question 1 of 15
1. Who wrote over 100 symphonies, was once expelled for cutting off another student's hair, taught Beethoven, strongly influenced Wolfgang Mozart, and was often known as 'Papa'? Hint


Question 2 of 15
2. Who is often called 'The Poet of the Piano', was in love with a woman more commonly known as a man, and died of Tuberculosis? Hint


Question 3 of 15
3. Who was nicknamed 'Tubby' and 'Little Mushroom', wrote a piece about an elf at the age of 18, had 'special evenings' with friends, and probably died of syphilis? Hint


Question 4 of 15
4. Who destroyed his fingers using a device supposed to stretch them, married his teacher's daughter only 14 short years after they first became engaged, tried to kill himself by jumping into the Rhine, and believed towards the end of his life that he spoke to the ghosts of Schubert and Mendelssohn and that he was being followed around by tigers and hyenas? Hint


Question 5 of 15
5. Who never knew for sure who his father was, wrote a 22-hour long opera cycle, wrote a play in which 42 characters die, owned (during his life) two poodles named Speck and Dreck and two spaniels named Peps and Fips, married Franz Liszt's daughter just before their third child was born, and believed Canada to be inhabited by 'scores of vegetarian panthers and tigers'? Hint


Question 6 of 15
6. Who was probably having an affair with Schumann's wife, frequented a pub called "The Red Hedgehog", and is famous for his Lullaby? Hint


Question 7 of 15
7. Who was a crybaby when young, had a brother named Modest, was always afraid that his head would fall off during a concert, was supported by a rich old lady, and died soon after it was revealed that he had had a 'fling' with the nephew of a prominent nobleman? Hint


Question 8 of 15
8. Who was known as a musical rebel, hated the term 'impressionism', was obsessed with the colour green, was once arrested for shoplifting a tie, and had a daughter named Chouchou? Hint


Question 9 of 15
9. Who wrote such pieces as 'Three Pieces in the Form of a Pear', 'Genuine Flabby Preludes for a Dog' and 'Dessicated Embryos', spent 8 days in jail for publicly calling a critic a foul name, and once made a movie of a camel pulling a hearse around a mini Eiffel Tower? Hint


Question 10 of 15
10. Who was originally named Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus, at the age of 7 proposed to Marie Antoinette, probably had Tourette's syndrome, once signed a letter to his father 'Addio, booby looby', and wrote a song called 'Lick my arse'? Hint


Question 11 of 15
11. Who was almost completely self-taught (and it shows!), suffered from triskaidecaphobia (fear of the number 13), was fond of the number 12, invented a technique of speech-singing, and had a riot break out at the first performance of a series of pieces about a drunken, delusional clown? Hint


Question 12 of 15
12. Who was a rampant pedophile, wrote a piece for voice and flatulence, hated Italians (even though he was one), and died after impaling his foot with a cane while conducting? Hint


Question 13 of 15
13. Who was abused by his drunken father, studied with Haydn, was once mistaken for a vagabond and arrested, threw eggs at a waiter, caused his nephew to attempt suicide, nicknamed his sisters-in-law 'The Lump' and 'The Queen of the Night', had syphilis, was only 5'4', temporarily dedicated a piece to Napoleon, and supposedly died during a thunderstorm? Hint


Question 14 of 15
14. Who once called Mozart 'the greatest Italian composer ever', composed all his overtures the night before they were to be performed, had a cat wander onstage during the premiere of his most famous opera, was extremely fond of pasta, and would be disgusted to know that one of his pieces is the theme song for The Lone Ranger? Hint


Question 15 of 15
15. Who had a passion for vodka, wrote a piece for a dog and a canary, is best known for a set of pieces about paintings, worked as a soldier and bureaucrat, and was abandoned by his fiancee when she learned that he had a 'congenital malformation of the sexual organs'? Hint



(Optional) Create a Free FunTrivia ID to save the points you are about to earn:

arrow Select a User ID:
arrow Choose a Password:
arrow Your Email:




Most Recent Scores
Mar 17 2024 : tiye: 12/15
Mar 11 2024 : Guest 15: 10/15
Mar 10 2024 : dgermenis: 10/15
Feb 27 2024 : Guest 92: 13/15
Feb 27 2024 : Guest 92: 13/15
Feb 19 2024 : Guest 107: 12/15
Feb 18 2024 : Guest 2: 13/15
Jan 29 2024 : V11d: 5/15

Score Distribution

quiz
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. Who wrote over 100 symphonies, was once expelled for cutting off another student's hair, taught Beethoven, strongly influenced Wolfgang Mozart, and was often known as 'Papa'?

Answer: Haydn

2. Who is often called 'The Poet of the Piano', was in love with a woman more commonly known as a man, and died of Tuberculosis?

Answer: Chopin

Chopin's mistress - Aurora Dudevant - wrote under the pen name George Sand, and occasionally dressed as a man.
3. Who was nicknamed 'Tubby' and 'Little Mushroom', wrote a piece about an elf at the age of 18, had 'special evenings' with friends, and probably died of syphilis?

Answer: Schubert

Schubert's friends called him 'Schwammerl'. His private, informal concerts - known as Schubertiades - were likely much more intimate than most people think, hence his probable manner of death. 'Erlkonig' (the Elf-King), is one of his most famous songs, and is the leading cause of depression in 18-year old amateur composers.
4. Who destroyed his fingers using a device supposed to stretch them, married his teacher's daughter only 14 short years after they first became engaged, tried to kill himself by jumping into the Rhine, and believed towards the end of his life that he spoke to the ghosts of Schubert and Mendelssohn and that he was being followed around by tigers and hyenas?

Answer: Schumann

Poor Schumann! His wife Clara was a more famous musician than he during his lifetime. After his suicide attempt, he spent his last years in an asylum.
5. Who never knew for sure who his father was, wrote a 22-hour long opera cycle, wrote a play in which 42 characters die, owned (during his life) two poodles named Speck and Dreck and two spaniels named Peps and Fips, married Franz Liszt's daughter just before their third child was born, and believed Canada to be inhabited by 'scores of vegetarian panthers and tigers'?

Answer: Wagner

Wagner, arguably Hitler's favorite composer, was also a fierce anti-Semite, and had a thing for pink silk underwear.
6. Who was probably having an affair with Schumann's wife, frequented a pub called "The Red Hedgehog", and is famous for his Lullaby?

Answer: Brahms

7. Who was a crybaby when young, had a brother named Modest, was always afraid that his head would fall off during a concert, was supported by a rich old lady, and died soon after it was revealed that he had had a 'fling' with the nephew of a prominent nobleman?

Answer: Tschaikovsky

The 'nephew' should have made the answer obvious to you. Tchaikovsky is probably the only major composer who was definitely gay (although we suspect others).
8. Who was known as a musical rebel, hated the term 'impressionism', was obsessed with the colour green, was once arrested for shoplifting a tie, and had a daughter named Chouchou?

Answer: Debussy

9. Who wrote such pieces as 'Three Pieces in the Form of a Pear', 'Genuine Flabby Preludes for a Dog' and 'Dessicated Embryos', spent 8 days in jail for publicly calling a critic a foul name, and once made a movie of a camel pulling a hearse around a mini Eiffel Tower?

Answer: Satie

10. Who was originally named Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus, at the age of 7 proposed to Marie Antoinette, probably had Tourette's syndrome, once signed a letter to his father 'Addio, booby looby', and wrote a song called 'Lick my arse'?

Answer: Mozart

Not surprisingly, 'Leck mich im Arsch' ('Lick my arse', K. 231) is one of Mozart's less popular pieces today. He also composed a bass aria entitled 'Every man is fond of nibbling'.
11. Who was almost completely self-taught (and it shows!), suffered from triskaidecaphobia (fear of the number 13), was fond of the number 12, invented a technique of speech-singing, and had a riot break out at the first performance of a series of pieces about a drunken, delusional clown?

Answer: Schoenberg

Schoenberg invented a technique called 'serialism', which uses a twelve-tone scale. History tells us that the police had to break up a brawl after the opening performance of 'Pierrot Lunaire' (an atonal piece using Sprechstimme). After hearing some of Schoenberg's music, it's easy to see why the audience went wild with rage.
12. Who was a rampant pedophile, wrote a piece for voice and flatulence, hated Italians (even though he was one), and died after impaling his foot with a cane while conducting?

Answer: Lully

Lully developed gangrene after the cane incident, and refused to have his leg amputated. When he died, hundreds of choirboys breathed sighs of relief. He was a Florentine born French composer.
13. Who was abused by his drunken father, studied with Haydn, was once mistaken for a vagabond and arrested, threw eggs at a waiter, caused his nephew to attempt suicide, nicknamed his sisters-in-law 'The Lump' and 'The Queen of the Night', had syphilis, was only 5'4', temporarily dedicated a piece to Napoleon, and supposedly died during a thunderstorm?

Answer: Beethoven

One of the most famous composers today, Beethoven was an eccentric man at best.
14. Who once called Mozart 'the greatest Italian composer ever', composed all his overtures the night before they were to be performed, had a cat wander onstage during the premiere of his most famous opera, was extremely fond of pasta, and would be disgusted to know that one of his pieces is the theme song for The Lone Ranger?

Answer: Rossini

The night before one of his operas premiered, the impresario locked Rossini in a small room with two goons, who were ordered to throw him out the window if the overture was not finished by dawn.
15. Who had a passion for vodka, wrote a piece for a dog and a canary, is best known for a set of pieces about paintings, worked as a soldier and bureaucrat, and was abandoned by his fiancee when she learned that he had a 'congenital malformation of the sexual organs'?

Answer: Mussorgsky

Mussorgsky, whose first name was 'Modest', is best remembered for 'Pictures at an Exhibition'.
Source: Author Garbanzo

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor agony before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.
3/28/2024, Copyright 2024 FunTrivia, Inc. - Report an Error / Contact Us