Q 01/05

In which small town in the Russian Empire was Tchaikovsky born in 1840?

A) Votkinsk

B) Kazan

C) Vyatka

D) Tula

Answer · why

A) Votkinsk

His father managed the ironworks there as an engineer in the Department of Mines.

Q 02/05

To which musical period does Tchaikovsky belong?

A) The Classical

B) The Baroque

C) The Modernist

D) The Romantic

Answer · why

D) The Romantic

He was the first Russian composer whose music made a lasting impression internationally.

Q 03/05

Tchaikovsky's great-grandfather Fyodor Chaika fought at which decisive clash of 1709?

A) Poltava

B) Kulikovo

C) Borodino

D) Narva

Answer · why

A) Poltava

He was a Zaporozhian Cossack; the composer's grandfather was later city governor of Glazov.

Q 04/05

What was the name of the French governess hired in 1844 who saved Tchaikovsky's earliest compositions?

A) Fanny Dürbach

B) Maria Palchikova

C) Alexandra d'Assier

D) Désirée Artôt

Answer · why

A) Fanny Dürbach

By six he was fluent in French and German; her affection reportedly made up for his mother's coldness.

Q 05/05

At what age did Tchaikovsky begin piano lessons?

A) Eight

B) Twelve

C) Three

D) Five

Answer · why

D) Five

Within three years he read sheet music as well as his teacher, Maria Palchikova.