Question 1

True or false: Classical Music composer Ludwig van Beethoven cut off his own ear.

Accepted Answer

False. This is a common mix‑up with painter Vincent van Gogh, who mutilated his ear. Beethoven lost his hearing, not his ear.

Question 2

True or false: Classical Music composer Richard Wagner wrote all his operas in French.

Accepted Answer

False. Richard Wagner was a German composer who wrote his operas in German, not French.

Question 3

True or false: Classical Music composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture features real cannon fire.

Accepted Answer

True. Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture includes parts for actual cannons, often performed with howitzers or artillery pieces in outdoor concerts.

Question 4

True or false: Classical Music composer Ludwig van Beethoven continued composing after going completely deaf.

Accepted Answer

True. Beethoven began losing his hearing in his 20s and was profoundly deaf by his late 40s, yet he composed major works like his Ninth Symphony entirely without hearing.

Question 5

True or false: Classical Music composer Johann Sebastian Bach was the first composer to use the piano.

Accepted Answer

False. The piano was invented around 1700, but Bach favored the harpsichord and organ. Early piano adopters included later composers like Mozart.

Question 6

True or false: Classical Music composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart composed the melody for Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.

Accepted Answer

False. The tune is a French folk song from 1761. Mozart wrote variations on it, but he did not compose the original melody.

Question 7

True or false: John Cage's 4'33" instructs performers not to play their instruments for the entire duration of the piece.

Accepted Answer

True. The 1952 piece's score states 'Tacet' for each movement, meaning the performer is silent, allowing ambient sounds to be heard.

Question 8

True or false: Classical Music composer Gioachino Rossini wrote The Barber of Seville in under three weeks.

Accepted Answer

True. Rossini composed the opera in about 13–20 days in 1816, a famously rapid pace even for the era.

Classical Music Trivia Questions