WEEKLY QUIZ: How well do you know your Czech composers?

As the annual Prague Spring festival opens, test your knowledge of Czech classical music.

Expats.cz Staff

Written by Expats.cz Staff Published on 12.05.2023 07:30:00 (updated on 25.10.2023) Reading time: 1 minute

Culture Daily News
Illustrative image: iStock - sergunt
Illustrative image: iStock - sergunt

The Prague Spring International Music Festival gets underway today, featuring symphony orchestras and chamber music ensembles from around the world. Its origins are connected with the first celebrations marking the end of World War II.

The festival was first held in 1946 under the patronage of Czechoslovak president Edvard Beneš, and its organizing committee was made up of important figures in Czech musical life. Celebrated composer Leonard Bernstein made his international debut at the festival in 1946 and 1947.

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This year's festival will last until Friday, June 2, and feature the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra. As is tradition, a tribute to Bedřich Smetana will be performed on the anniversary of his death. This year a tribute will be performed by the Prague Castle Brass Septet at the Vyšehrad Cemetery on May 12. A retelling of Antonín Dvořák's lesser-known opera Armida will also be staged.

To mark the opening of the festival, take our quiz to see how well you know Czechia's most renowned composers!

Question 1 / 5

Astronaut Neil Armstrong took a tape recording of which Czech composer's New World Symphony along during the Apollo 11 mission, the first Moon landing, in 1969?

Please answer previous questions first.

  • Antonín Dvořák
  • Bedřich Smetana
  • Leoš Janáček
  • Bohuslav Martinů
Question 2 / 5

What work by Bedřich Smetana traditionally opens the annual Prague Spring Festival?

Please answer previous questions first.

  • Dalibor
  • My Homeland (Má vlast‎)
  • The Bartered Bride (Prodaná nevěsta)
  • Libuše
Question 3 / 5

As a music student in the 1870s, composer Leoš Janáček was so poor that he:

Please answer previous questions first.

  • Sold sketches on the street
  • Played in a polka band
  • Practiced on a pretend keyboard
  • Saved money by being a vegetarian
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Question 4 / 5

Which popular music star was a music student of composer Bohuslav Martinů?

Please answer previous questions first.

  • Burt Bacharach
  • Neil Diamond
  • Leonard Bernstein
  • Barry Manilow
Question 5 / 5

Josef Suk married the daughter of which other famous Czech musician?

Please answer previous questions first.

  • Jaromír Vejvoda
  • Jaroslav Ježek
  • Antonín Dvořák
  • Josef Mysliveček
See all other quizzes on Expats.cz
Prague Spring Festival Opening Concert 2023

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