Q 01/05

In which key is Beethoven's Ninth Symphony written?

A) E-flat major

B) C minor

C) D minor

D) A major

Answer · why

C) D minor

It is Op. 125, and the finale turns to the parallel major.

Q 02/05

In which year was the Ninth Symphony first performed?

A) 1808

B) 1815

C) 1824

D) 1827

Answer · why

C) 1824

Beethoven had wanted Berlin, but Viennese patrons petitioned him to keep it at home.

Q 03/05

Which poet wrote the text that Beethoven set in the finale?

A) Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

B) Friedrich Schiller

C) Friedrich Hölderlin

D) Heinrich Heine

Answer · why

B) Friedrich Schiller

The poem was written in 1785 and revised in 1803, and Beethoven added a few words of his own.

Q 04/05

What was the Ninth the first example of?

A) A major composer omitting the slow movement

B) A major composer's symphony lasting over an hour

C) A symphony in five movements by a major composer

D) A major composer scoring vocal parts in a symphony

Answer · why

D) A major composer scoring vocal parts in a symphony

Four soloists and a chorus join in the last movement, in the parallel key of D major.

Q 05/05

Which body first adopted an instrumental arrangement of the Ode to Joy as its official anthem, in 1972?

A) The Council of Europe

B) NATO

C) UNESCO

D) The European Parliament

Answer · why

A) The Council of Europe

The European Communities followed in 1985; the anthem has no official words.