Here are the correct answers to 2019’s New Year Quiz:
1. How many symphonies did Sibelius write?
c) 7
2. Sibelius was born in the year in which an American president died. Which one?
b) Abraham Lincoln
3. The Swan of Tuonela features a major solo for which instrument?
a) cor anglais
4. Sibelius’s eldest daughter’s married name was…
c) Eva Paloheimo
5. Kullervo and Lemminkäinen, as depicted in music by Sibelius, are characters in which epic poem?
b) Kalevala
6. Who played the solo part at the first performance of Sibelius’s Violin Concerto (original version)?
b) Viktor Nováček
7. In which city was Sibelius’s Seventh Symphony premièred?
c) Stockholm
8. Sibelius and Winston Churchill famously shared a love of
b) cigars
9. The tone poem Tapiola is an evocation of
c) Finnish forests
10. In 1893 Sibelius wrote a score for tableaux based on the history of which geographical region?
c) Karelia
11. In 1892 Sibelius married
a) Aino Järnefelt
12. Sibelius’s home, Ainola, was designed by
b) Lars Sonck
13. Sibelius sheltered at the Lapinlahti Mental Hospital during which conflict?
c) Finnish Civil War
14. Donald Tovey described the finale of Sibelius’s Violin Concerto as a polonaise for…
b) polar bears
15. Sibelius’s Seventh Symphony was originally named
c) Fantasia sinfonica
16. Before composing his Fourth Symphony, Sibelius was inspired by a visit to
b) Koli mountain
17. In his youth Sibelius greatly enjoyed summer visits to his grandmother’s house in
b) Lovisa
18. At the end of his career, at the height of his powers, Sibelius stopped producing major works. He is therefore sometimes compared to which Shakespearean character?
a) Prospero
19. In Sweden, the title of Sibelius’s Kullervo usually appears on programmes as
b) Kullervo
20. Sibelius advised a conductor in detail about recording his Fourth Symphony, and later suggested that the same conductor should record The Oceanides. Which conductor?
b) Thomas Beecham
21. Sibelius’s famous piece of incidental music depicting the dance of a dying woman is called
c) Valse triste
22. Sibelius’s Jäger March was originally composed as
b) a military song for the Royal Prussian 27th Jäger Battalion
23. The title of Sibelius’s opera Jungfrun i tornet is usually translated into English as
c) The Maiden in the Tower
24. Among Sibelius’s fiftieth birthday presents, still preserved at his home Ainola, was
a) a Steinway piano
25. Sibelius auditioned unsuccessfully for a post as violinist with which orchestra?
c) Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
20–25 correct: congratulations! You are probably already a member of Sibelius One. If not, we’re sure you would like to become one. Click here to join!
10–19 correct: not bad, but you might like to find out more about Sibelius before taking our next quiz. Why not join Sibelius One?
1–9 correct: you definitely need to join Sibelius One!
0 correct, or if you answered (d) to every question: you’re probably on the wrong website. But you’re very welcome to join Sibelius One anyway!