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