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Ludwig van Beethoven - Quiz
Contributed by: Newell
  • 1. In which city was Ludwig van Beethoven born?
A) Bonn
B) Vienna
C) Paris
D) Berlin
  • 2. What instrument did Beethoven primarily play?
A) Flute
B) Piano
C) Cello
D) Violin
  • 3. Which symphony by Beethoven is known as the 'Eroica'?
A) Symphony No. 9
B) Symphony No. 7
C) Symphony No. 5
D) Symphony No. 3
  • 4. Which era of music did Beethoven bridge during his lifetime?
A) Medieval and Renaissance
B) Classical and Romantic
C) Baroque and Classical
D) Romantic and Modern
  • 5. Which of Beethoven's symphonies is famously known for its four-note opening motif?
A) Symphony No. 7
B) Symphony No. 9
C) Symphony No. 3
D) Symphony No. 5
  • 6. Who was Beethoven's famous letter addressed to, in which he revealed his deafness?
A) Für Elise
B) Immortal Beloved
C) Eroica Symphony
D) Moonlight Sonata
  • 7. In which year did Beethoven pass away?
A) 1827
B) 1750
C) 1799
D) 1869
  • 8. What was the title of Beethoven's only opera?
A) Carmen
B) The Magic Flute
C) Fidelio
D) Madama Butterfly
  • 9. What was Beethoven's nationality?
A) German
B) French
C) Italian
D) Austrian
  • 10. Beethoven was often associated with which musical key signature?
A) D major
B) A flat minor
C) F sharp major
D) C minor
  • 11. Which famous French general did Beethoven originally dedicate his third symphony to?
A) Joachim Murat
B) Maréchal Ney
C) Louis-Alexandre Berthier
D) Napoleon Bonaparte
  • 12. Who was Beethoven's first music teacher?
A) Johann van Beethoven
B) Christian Gottlob Neefe
C) Joseph Haydn
D) Franz Rovantini
  • 13. What was the profession of Ludwig van Beethoven's grandfather?
A) Kapellmeister (music director)
B) Pianist
C) Conductor
D) Composer
  • 14. Which city did Beethoven move to at the age of 21?
A) Berlin
B) Vienna
C) Munich
D) Bonn
  • 15. Who was one of Beethoven's patrons in Vienna?
A) Clemens August
B) Heinrich Keverich
C) Karl Alois, Prince Lichnowsky
D) Johann IX Philipp von Walderdorff
  • 16. What was Beethoven's relationship to the Archbishop-Elector of Cologne?
A) Grandson through his father, who worked at the court
B) Nephew
C) Cousin
D) Son
  • 17. Who was Beethoven's mother?
A) Nannerl Mozart
B) Helene von Breuning
C) Julie Guicciardi
D) Maria Magdalena Keverich
  • 18. What was Beethoven's birth date according to the baptism record?
A) 18 December 1770
B) 16 December 1770
C) 17 December 1770
D) 15 December 1770
  • 19. Which Beethoven sonata is dedicated to his pupil Julie Guicciardi?
A) Appassionata Sonata
B) Pathétique Sonata
C) Waldstein Sonata
D) Moonlight Sonata
  • 20. What was Beethoven's age at the time of his death?
A) 50
B) 65
C) 60
D) 56
  • 21. Which of Beethoven's works were published posthumously?
A) Bagatelle "Für Elise"
B) Ninth Symphony
C) Fifth Symphony
D) Eroica Symphony
  • 22. Which period of Beethoven's career is known for his classical style influenced by Haydn and Mozart?
A) Late period (1812–1827)
B) First period (up to 1802)
C) Middle period (1802–1812)
D) Romantic period
  • 23. Which Beethoven work is a pinnacle of the string quartet genre?
A) Eroica Symphony
B) Fifth Symphony
C) Große Fuge
D) Ninth Symphony
  • 24. Who instructed Beethoven on the violin?
A) Joseph Haydn
B) Christian Gottlob Neefe
C) Johann van Beethoven
D) Court concertmaster Franz Anton Ries
  • 25. Which Beethoven work was composed in 1798?
A) Moonlight Sonata
B) Eroica Symphony
C) First Symphony
D) Pathétique Sonata
  • 26. Who was Beethoven's most important teacher in Bonn?
A) Maximilian Franz
B) Christian Gottlob Neefe
C) Count Ferdinand von Waldstein
D) Franz Wegeler
  • 27. What was Beethoven's first published work?
A) Three piano sonatas (WoO 47)
B) A set of keyboard variations (WoO 63)
C) Cantata for the death of Joseph II (WoO 87)
D) Ballet Musik zu einem Ritterballett (WoO 1)
  • 28. What nickname were Beethoven's first three piano sonatas sometimes known by?
A) Haydn
B) Waldstein
C) Kurfürst
D) Breuning
  • 29. Who became a 'second mother' to Beethoven and taught him refined manners?
A) Helene von Breuning
B) Maximilian Franz's wife
C) Anna von Schaden
D) Johann van Beethoven
  • 30. Who commissioned Beethoven's first work for the stage?
A) Franz Wegeler
B) Maximilian Franz
C) Count Ferdinand von Waldstein
D) Christian Gottlob Neefe
  • 31. What ballet did Beethoven compose in 1791?
A) Fidelio
B) Die Geschöpfe des Prometheus
C) Musik zu einem Ritterballett (WoO 1)
D) Leonore
  • 32. When did Beethoven's mother die?
A) July 1787
B) 1792
C) 1785
D) 1789
  • 33. Which composer's spirit did Waldstein hope Beethoven would receive from Haydn?
A) Paisiello
B) Gluck
C) Beethoven
D) Mozart
  • 34. When was Beethoven first introduced to Joseph Haydn?
A) 1789
B) 1792
C) 1785
D) Late 1790
  • 35. In which year did Beethoven leave Bonn for Vienna?
A) 1789
B) 1792
C) 1794
D) 1801
  • 36. Who was the composer that Beethoven studied under to master counterpoint?
A) Salieri
B) Albrechtsberger
C) Mozart
D) Haydn
  • 37. Which instrument did Ignaz Schuppanzigh teach Beethoven?
A) Flute
B) Violin
C) Cello
D) Piano
  • 38. Who was Beethoven's brother that helped him with business dealings?
A) Ferdinand
B) Carl
C) Kaspar
D) Joseph
  • 39. Who did Beethoven have a piano 'duel' with in 1799?
A) Ignaz Moscheles
B) Ferdinand Ries
C) Joseph Wölfl
D) Daniel Steibelt
  • 40. What was the reaction to Beethoven's concert at Burgtheater on April 2, 1800?
A) It was universally praised without criticism
B) Beethoven's works were not well received
C) It was called 'the most interesting concert in a long time' by the Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung
D) The players ignored the soloist entirely
  • 41. Which company's proprietor presented Beethoven with a piano as a testimonial of esteem in England?
A) Steinway & Sons
B) Broadwood
C) Yamaha
D) Bechstein
  • 42. Who did Beethoven propose to in 1810?
A) Therese Malfatti
B) Julie Guicciardi
C) Antonie Brentano
D) Josephine Brunsvik
  • 43. Which building was Beethoven's most enduring residence in Vienna?
A) Beethoven House, Bonn
B) Pasqualatihaus (Mölker Bastei 8)
C) Beethoven Museum in Probusgasse
D) Beethovenhalle
  • 44. Who was the conductor during the first performance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony?
A) Anton Schindler
B) Johann Nepomuk Hummel
C) Ludwig van Beethoven
D) Michael Umlauf
  • 45. For which play did Beethoven write incidental music commissioned by Goethe in 1810?
A) The Ruins of Athens
B) Egmont
C) King Stephen
D) Meeresstille und glückliche Fahrt
  • 46. Who did Charles Rosen suggest Beethoven's early style was closer to?
A) Hummel or Muzio Clementi
B) Schubert and Liszt
C) Bach and Handel
D) Haydn and Mozart
  • 47. Who did Beethoven have a legal dispute with over custody of his nephew Karl?
A) A local magistrate
B) His brother Johann
C) Therese Obermayer
D) Kaspar's widow Johanna
  • 48. What did a review in Johann Nikolaus Forkel's Musikalischer Almanack compare Beethoven's early efforts to?
A) Rank beginners
B) Classical masters
C) Mature composers
D) Contemporary virtuosos
  • 49. In which year were Beethoven's remains moved to Vienna's Zentralfriedhof?
A) 1827
B) 1900
C) 1863
D) 1888
  • 50. Since what year has the Beethovenfest in Bonn been organized annually?
A) 2007
B) 2001
C) 1845
D) 1880
  • 51. Where did Beethoven move in 1802 to cope with his hearing loss?
A) Heiligenstadt
B) Vienna
C) Cassel
D) Leipzig
  • 52. Whose endorsement did Maelzel seek and obtain for his newly developed metronome in 1817?
A) Haydn's
B) Schubert's
C) Mozart's
D) Beethoven's
  • 53. Which musical period's devices did Beethoven incorporate in his late works?
A) Renaissance era
B) Baroque-era
C) Classical era
D) Romantic era
  • 54. What was particularly popular from the concert on 8 December 1813?
A) Wellington's Victory (Op. 91)
B) The Allegretto movement
C) Battle Symphony
D) Seventh Symphony, Op. 92
  • 55. What did Beethoven write under the introductory slow chords in the last movement of Op. 135?
A) "Es muss sein!"
B) "Muss es sein?"
C) "Von Herzen—Möge es wieder—Zu Herzen gehn!"
D) "Der schwer gefasste Entschluss"
  • 56. What did the Philharmonic Society in London send to Beethoven?
A) £100
B) A portrait of him
C) A lifetime membership
D) A grand piano
  • 57. Who originally suggested the idea of a symphony based on Napoleon?
A) General Bernadotte
B) E. T. A. Hoffmann
C) Archduke Rudolf
D) Czerny
  • 58. Who was the composer that Beethoven studied under for Italian vocal composition style?
A) Joseph Haydn
B) Ignaz Schuppanzigh
C) Antonio Salieri
D) Johann Albrechtsberger
  • 59. What illness did Beethoven attribute part of his reduced output between 1815 and 1819 to?
A) Migraine
B) Inflammatory fever
C) Tuberculosis
D) Rheumatism
  • 60. How much money did Beethoven lend to his brother Kaspar in 1813?
A) 1500 florins
B) 1000 florins
C) 2000 florins
D) 500 florins
  • 61. What did Beethoven call the F minor String Quartet, Op. 95?
A) Quartetto serioso
B) Tragic Quartet
C) Heroic Quartet
D) Dramatic Quartet
  • 62. Which city did Antonie Brentano move to with her husband?
A) Munich
B) Budapest
C) Vienna
D) Berlin
  • 63. What illness did Beethoven suffer from while writing the String Quartet No. 15?
A) A sudden illness
B) Rheumatism
C) Tuberculosis
D) Migraine
  • 64. What was the relationship between Beethoven and Josephine Brunsvik?
A) He never wrote to her.
B) He had a passionate correspondence with her.
C) She rejected his proposal.
D) They were married.
  • 65. What condition is believed to have caused Beethoven's hearing loss?
A) Auricular infection
B) Tinnitus
C) Neural degeneration
D) Otosclerosis
  • 66. In which year did Beethoven begin experiencing hearing loss?
A) 1824
B) 1802
C) 1798
D) 1815
  • 67. In which city is the Ira F. Brilliant Center for Beethoven Studies located?
A) Vienna
B) St. Louis
C) Bonn
D) San Jose, California
  • 68. When did Beethoven's brother Kaspar die?
A) On 15 November 1815
B) On 8 November 1812
C) In late 1820
D) In early 1813
  • 69. How much did Beethoven set the price for each of the three string quartets commissioned by Prince Nikolai Galitzin?
A) 75 ducats per quartet.
B) 50 ducats per quartet.
C) 30 ducats per sonata.
D) 100 ducats per quartet.
  • 70. To whom did Beethoven write that he cherished admiration, love, and esteem since his youth?
A) Bettina Brentano
B) Rudolph
C) Goethe
D) Antonie Brentano
  • 71. In which year did Beethoven regain custody of his nephew Karl?
A) 1820
B) 1822
C) 1816
D) 1818
  • 72. Who read the funeral oration at Beethoven's requiem mass?
A) Anselm Hüttenbrenner
B) Joseph Mayseder
C) Heinrich Anschütz
D) Franz Schubert
  • 73. What do later writers seek to identify within Beethoven's generally accepted structure?
A) The influence of other composers
B) New compositions
C) A fourth period
D) Sub-periods
  • 74. When was the Beethoven Monument in Bonn unveiled?
A) 2007
B) August 1845
C) 2001
D) 1880
  • 75. What illness did Beethoven's brother Kaspar suffer from?
A) Tuberculosis
B) Cholera
C) Malaria
D) Pneumonia
  • 76. Who attended Beethoven until his death in December 1826?
A) Schindler
B) Karl
C) Andreas Ignaz Wawruch
D) Dr. Malfatti
  • 77. Who did Beethoven accuse of cheating or mismanaging ticket receipts?
A) Schindler
B) Michael Umlauf
C) Rudolph
D) Karl Holz
  • 78. To whom did Beethoven present the manuscript of the completed Missa solemnis on 19 March?
A) Rudolph
B) Louis XVIII
C) Michael Umlauf
D) Johann Friedrich Rochlitz
  • 79. Which works are considered Beethoven's 'late' quartets?
A) Composed from 1824 onwards
B) Opp. 59, 74 and 95
C) Composed between 1806–1814
D) Op. 18 quartets
  • 80. What was the name of the cantata Beethoven composed for the Congress of Vienna?
A) Der glorreiche Augenblick (The Glorious Moment)
B) An die Hoffnung
C) Fidelio
D) Wellington's Victory
  • 81. What was the financial outcome of Beethoven's subscription concert in April 1803?
A) It resulted in significant losses for Beethoven
B) Beethoven had to refund all the tickets
C) The concert was cancelled due to poor ticket sales
D) It was a financial success
  • 82. Which work was inscribed to Beethoven's foremost patron, pupil, and friend?
A) Ninth Symphony
B) Missa solemnis
C) Diabelli Variations
D) String Quartet No. 14
  • 83. How did Beethoven's nephew Karl perceive his uncle's involvement in his life?
A) As supportive and caring.
B) As indifferent and distant.
C) As minimal and uninvolved.
D) As an overbearing manner.
  • 84. Who prepared a piano score of Fidelio commissioned by Beethoven's publisher, Artaria?
A) Moscheles
B) Duke of Wellington
C) Ludwig Spohr
D) Johann Nepomuk Maelzel
  • 85. Which of Beethoven's works was dedicated in 1822?
A) Egmont Overture
B) Meeresstille und glückliche Fahrt
C) Archduke Trio
D) F minor String Quartet
  • 86. What did Beethoven add to Moscheles' inscription on the piano score of Fidelio?
A) "O Man, help thyself."
B) "With God's guidance."
C) "For art and glory."
D) "To success!"
  • 87. What device did Beethoven use to communicate due to his deteriorating hearing?
A) Conversation books
B) Sign language
C) Telegraph
D) Braille
  • 88. In which city did Beethoven meet Goethe in 1812?
A) Berlin
B) Teplitz (now Teplice)
C) Vienna
D) Munich
  • 89. Which institution arose largely as a vehicle for performing Beethoven’s symphonies?
A) The modern piano
B) Recording technology
C) The art of conducting
D) The professional orchestra
  • 90. Which composer did Beethoven consider 'the greatest who ever lived'?
A) Johann Sebastian Bach
B) George Frideric Handel
C) Claudio Monteverdi
D) Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
  • 91. Which category of Beethoven's compositions fits the three-period categorization most neatly?
A) Piano sonatas
B) Concertos
C) Symphonies
D) The quartets
  • 92. How many people are estimated to have attended Beethoven's funeral procession?
A) 20,000
B) 10,000
C) 5,000
D) 50,000
  • 93. Which publisher did Beethoven persuade to write a new finale for String Quartet No. 13?
A) Haslinger
B) Cramer
C) Artaria
D) Schlesinger
  • 94. In which year did Ludwig van Beethoven complete the Missa solemnis?
A) 1823
B) 1826
C) 1824
D) 1825
  • 95. Where did Beethoven recuperate after his illness in April 1825?
A) Vienna
B) Berlin
C) Munich
D) Baden
  • 96. Which phrase did Beethoven utter on 24 March 1827, indicating the end of his life?
A) "Carpe diem"
B) "Veni, vidi, vici"
C) "Plaudite, amici, comoedia finita est"
D) "To be or not to be"
  • 97. Which work did Beethoven dedicate to Archduke Rudolf?
A) Archduke Trio Op. 97
B) Mass in C, Op. 86
C) Fidelio
D) Violin Concerto
  • 98. Which French monarch sent Beethoven a heavy gold medallion?
A) Louis XVIII
B) Napoleon Bonaparte
C) Charles X
D) François I
  • 99. Who was the proprietor of the Stein piano workshop that assisted Beethoven during his illness?
A) Nannette Streicher
B) Thomas Broadwood
C) Alois Jeitteles
D) Maelzel
  • 100. When did Beethoven's late period begin?
A) The decade 1780–1790
B) The decade 1790–1800
C) The decade 1820–1830
D) The decade 1810–1819
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