Famous Symphonies
Instructions: Test your knowledge of the greatest symphonies and the composers who created them!
- 1.
Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 famously opens with how many notes in its iconic 'da-da-da-DUM' motif?
ASixBThreeCFourDFive - 2.
Which Beethoven symphony includes the choral setting of Schiller's 'Ode to Joy'?
ASymphony No. 3 'Eroica'BSymphony No. 9CSymphony No. 7DSymphony No. 6 'Pastoral' - 3.
Which composer wrote the 'Surprise Symphony,' with a sudden loud chord in the slow movement?
AWolfgang Amadeus MozartBJoseph HaydnCLudwig van BeethovenDFranz Schubert - 4.
Dvořák's Symphony No. 9 is subtitled 'From the New World.' Where was he living when he wrote it?
ANew York CityBPragueCLondonDVienna - 5.
Which Russian composer wrote the '1812 Overture,' often performed with real cannons?
AModest MussorgskyBSergei ProkofievCPyotr Ilyich TchaikovskyDNikolai Rimsky-Korsakov - 6.
Mozart composed how many symphonies during his short lifetime?
A51B31C21D41 - 7.
Which symphony by Schubert is nicknamed 'Unfinished' because it has only two movements?
ASymphony No. 9BSymphony No. 7CSymphony No. 8DSymphony No. 5 - 8.
Beethoven's Symphony No. 3 'Eroica' was originally dedicated to which historical figure?
ANapoleon BonaparteBThomas JeffersonCKing George IIIDFrederick the Great - 9.
Which composer's Symphony No. 9 is sometimes considered 'cursed' because many composers died after their own ninth?
ABeethovenBAll of the aboveCMahlerDBruckner - 10.
Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 8, requiring over 1,000 performers, is nicknamed what?
ASymphony of a ThousandBThe Colossal SymphonyCThe Grand SymphonyDSymphony of the Universe - 11.
Which Brahms symphony is sometimes called 'Beethoven's Tenth' because of its similar style?
ASymphony No. 1BSymphony No. 3CSymphony No. 4DSymphony No. 2 - 12.
Haydn is often called the 'Father of the Symphony.' Approximately how many did he compose?
A104B54C74D134 - 13.
Which Tchaikovsky symphony is subtitled 'Pathétique' and was premiered just nine days before his death?
ASymphony No. 6BSymphony No. 7CSymphony No. 5DSymphony No. 4 - 14.
Which 20th-century American composer wrote 'Symphony No. 3,' often called 'the greatest American symphony'?
ALeonard BernsteinBGeorge GershwinCSamuel BarberDAaron Copland - 15.
Beethoven's Symphony No. 6 is subtitled 'Pastoral.' What does it musically depict?
AScenes from country life and natureBA military battleCA royal coronationDA religious ceremony
Answer Key
The four-note opening motif of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony (1808) — three short notes followed by one long note — is perhaps the most recognized phrase in all of classical music.
Beethoven's Ninth Symphony (1824) was revolutionary for including vocal soloists and a chorus in its final movement. The 'Ode to Joy' melody was later adopted as the anthem of the European Union.
Haydn's Symphony No. 94 ('Surprise') features a quiet melody suddenly interrupted by a fortissimo chord. Haydn reportedly said he wanted to make the audience jump who had fallen asleep.
Antonín Dvořák composed this symphony in 1893 while serving as director of the National Conservatory of Music in New York City. It incorporates elements inspired by Native American and African American music.
Tchaikovsky composed the '1812 Overture' in 1880 to commemorate Russia's defense against Napoleon's invasion. The score calls for cannon fire and church bells in the finale.
Mozart composed 41 numbered symphonies, with his last three (Nos. 39, 40, and 41) written in an astonishing six-week span in the summer of 1788. He died at age 35.
Schubert's Symphony No. 8 in B minor (1822) consists of only two completed movements. The reason he never finished it remains a mystery, though it is one of his most beloved works.
Beethoven originally dedicated the 'Eroica' to Napoleon, whom he admired as a champion of democracy. When Napoleon crowned himself Emperor in 1804, Beethoven angrily scratched out the dedication.
The 'Curse of the Ninth' is a superstition noting that Beethoven, Schubert, Bruckner, Dvořák, and Mahler all died during or after composing their ninth symphonies. Mahler was so superstitious about it that he tried to avoid numbering his ninth.
Mahler's Eighth Symphony (1906) is called the 'Symphony of a Thousand' because its premiere in Munich in 1910 featured 858 singers and 171 instrumentalists. The nickname was created by the concert's promoter.
Brahms's Symphony No. 1 (1876) took him over 20 years to complete, partly because he felt the weight of Beethoven's legacy. Conductor Hans von Bülow called it 'Beethoven's Tenth' as a compliment.
Joseph Haydn composed 104 numbered symphonies over his long career, establishing the four-movement symphony form that Beethoven, Mozart, and later composers would build upon.
Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 6 'Pathétique' premiered on October 28, 1893. He died just nine days later. The unusually somber final movement has led to much speculation about the work's autobiographical nature.
Aaron Copland's Symphony No. 3 (1946) incorporates his famous 'Fanfare for the Common Man' in the final movement. It is widely considered the finest American symphony of its era.
The 'Pastoral' Symphony (1808) depicts scenes from rural life, including a brook, a village gathering, a thunderstorm, and a shepherd's song of thanksgiving. Each movement has a descriptive title.