Music trivia

This family quiz has questions for everyone. Children get extra points for blues and reds.

Orange - For all the family
Blue - For grown-ups
Red - For grown-up know-it-alls

 

1.    Which composer suffered from progressive deafness and near the end of his career was almost totally deaf?

2.    Name the singer-songwriter and founder member of the Beatles who was assassinated in 1980.

3.    The Marriage of Figaro, The Magic Flute and Don Giovanni are operas by which Austrian composer?

4.    In 1899 Scott Joplin developed a distinctive style of jazz which took the USA by storm. What was it called?

5.    Bandleader and singer Louis Armstrong was jazz’s foremost virtuoso on which instrument?

6.    The ‘Wall of Sound’ was created by an American record producer who worked with groups such as the Ronettes and the Crystals. What was his name?

7.    Two British composers produced a celebrated series of comic operas, including The Pirates of Penzance, between 1871 and 1896. Who were they?

8.    Which blockbuster movie starring Julie Andrews was an adaptation of a Richard Rogers stage musical?

9.    Which popular singer was called ‘The King’?

10.    With what style of music was the American rock band Nirvana associated?