Out late in Fargo with a beer and a Beethoven impersonator

When you're getting ready for a trivia event with a specific subject, I suppose it's better preparation to study that subject than to brainstorm the coolest name for your team. But which course of action is more fun? I think we all know the answer to that question, at least.

Feb. 19 was Beethoven-themed trivia night at the Rhombus Guys restaurant in downtown Fargo. The event was part of the month-long BeethovenFest in progress in the Fargo-Moorhead area, with happenings like concerts, plays, film screenings, and a community ed course. Despite its 9:30 p.m. start time, rather late for me — and on an evening I had two additional commitments — trivia was one event I was determined to attend.

I recruited a couple of colleagues from the North Dakota State University music department to be on my team, but when they voiced concerns about the start time, I began to suspect it would be a team of me, myself, and I. Arriving about an hour early on the 19th, as suggested by Rhombus Guys' staff, I ordered a drink and wondered if I should try to join a group of strangers, or maybe there would be someone there I knew. I started surveying the crowd at 9:05, but I didn't see any acquaintances and wasn't in the mood to introduce myself to anyone.

Luckily, my husband happened to be at a nearby restaurant with some friends, and agreed to join me at 9:30. Good thing, too — he came up with our team name, "Always a Van, Never a Von" (ten times better than anything my prior brainstorming had produced).

The game consisted of 20 questions plus a bonus and a tie-breaker. Orchestral works by Beethoven played overhead throughout, a nice enhancement to the experience. Questions ranged from easy ("What impairment did Beethoven have?") to fairly challenging ("Who did Beethoven dedicate his third symphony to, though it was later revoked?" I guessed Goethe, but the correct answer turned out to be Napoleon). Some questions involved pop culture, and some related to BeethovenFest ("Name one of the special Beethoven-themed brews from one of our three local breweries.")

There were a couple of minutes between each question, so at one point I sought out the Beethoven impersonator, who was circulating the restaurant, and invited him to our table for a chat. "Ludwig" said he knew most of the answers so far, and that he's been to many of the BeethovenFest events, though not all. His favorite events are the happy hours with tuba quartet music and the play 33 Variations (he's in the cast).

Halfway through the questions I began to think we had a pretty good chance of winning, which helped me stay excited even as I grew more tired. By 10:20 or so (after Beethoven's bedtime) the announcer began scoring everyone's answers. It seemed there were about a dozen teams. I didn't care too much about winning by 10:40, when there were still no results, but I was still a little disappointed when we didn't place after all. We got 16 correct, but it wasn't enough to make the top three.

It may make me an oldster, but I wish the event had started earlier — I would have had a bigger team and enjoyed it more. But I did have fun, and I think it's great that a classical composer was celebrated in this way in my community.

Gwendolyn Hoberg is a classical musician and the owner of the editing and writing business Content & Contour. A Moorhead resident, Gwen is on the faculty of the NDSU Challey School of Music and plays with the Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra. She is also a co-author of The Walk Across North Dakota.

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