Mastermind Club
Quiz 2026-2
Classical Music
Set by Mel Kinsey
Answers
1/ Which composer wrote exactly nine symphonies, yet did not intend his final one to be his last?
2/Which Baroque composer was also a librarian in Bologna and wrote over 300 concertos?
3/Who was the first major composer to make a living primarily without court or church employment?
4/Which composer studied counterpoint with Padre Martini but never met Mozart?
5/ Which Romantic composer destroyed many of his own early works out of dissatisfaction?
6/Which symphony was originally titled “Bonaparte”, and why was the dedication later removed?
7/What is the only opera by Beethoven?
8/Which Bach work was rediscovered in 1829, helping to spark the Bach revival?
9/Which Mahler symphony uses the melody of “Frère Jacques” in a minor key?
10/Which Debussy work marked a decisive break from traditional Germanic symphonic form?
11/What key relationship defines the second theme in Classical-period sonata form?
12/What is the name of the technique in which a melody is played backwards?
13/In a fugue, what is the term for the overlapping entry of voices?
14/What unusual time signature dominates the second movement of Tchaikovsky’s Pathétique Symphony?
15/What term describes the gradual acceleration or deceleration of tempo for expressive purposes?
16/ Which instrument did Berlioz famously champion in his treatise on instrumentation?
17/
What keyboard instrument preceded the modern piano and lacked dynamic control?
Which instrument plays the eerie solo at the opening of Also sprach Zarathustra?
Which composer was one of the first to write extensively for the valved horn?
Which orchestral instrument traditionally transposes in B♭ and A?
History & Influence
Which city was the epicenter of the Second Viennese School?
Which composer directly influenced both Wagner and Liszt through his harmonic innovations?
What 1913 ballet premiere caused a near-riot due to its rhythm and dissonance?
Which compositional movement sought to abandon tonality entirely?
Which composer bridged Classical and Romantic styles through expanded form and emotional depth?
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