Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Pronunciation of Composer's Names

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    Pronunciation of Composer's Names

    On our national radio there is an ad for an upcoming Tchaikovsky concert, but the announcers keeps referring to the composer as "Tchaikossky" - in other words, he doesn't pronounce the V. I always thought the V was sounded even when the name appears, as it sometimes does, as "Tchaikowsky". Am I wrong?

    And while I'm on the subject, I occasionally hear Mozart's name pronounced without the "T" sound.
    When I was in Bonn a few years ago, I got into a conversation with a local gentleman who had excellent English, but he kept pronouncing Beethoven's name with the "Bee" as in beetroot (which is actually what it is derived from).

    All this reminds me of the way Winston Churchill refused to sound the "T" in the word Nazi. He kept calling them "nassies" which took away some of the menace.
    Anyway, there is little else bothering me today, thankfully.

    #2
    Heh. Our local NPR (National Public Radio) station, back when it still allotted a decent portion of its broadcast day to classical music, utilized college students for locally produced between-works announcements. Talk about creative pronunciation! Hey, at least they ran it back then.

    Sorta reminds me of that old quip about the lady who visited a record shop looking for a piece she'd heard on the radio titled "I'm inclined to Knock Music." (Leastwise that's how I remember it.)

    Comment


      #3
      My grandmother always had problems with pronouncing composers' names so we had Mow-zart, Wag(as in tail)-ner, and Choppin. A pupil came up with Batch!
      'Man know thyself'

      Comment


        #4
        I feel confident in pronouncing Italian and German names, but I have no idea what to do with French names. Even assuming I know what they are supposed to sound like, I can't make them sound like that.

        Comment


          #5
          Originally posted by Decrepit Poster View Post
          Sorta reminds me of that old quip about the lady who visited a record shop looking for a piece she'd heard on the radio titled "I'm inclined to Knock Music." (Leastwise that's how I remember it.)
          Reminds me of the chap looking online for music by his favourite composer, Jackie Bear. He was getting nowhere until somebody twigged what it was: Jacques Ibert.

          That wouldn't have been you, Chris?




          .
          Last edited by Michael; 05-06-2015, 06:52 PM.

          Comment


            #6
            Originally posted by Michael View Post
            Reminds me of the chap looking online for music by his favourite composer, Jackie Bear. He was getting nowhere until somebody twigged what it was: Jacques Ibert.

            That wouldn't have been you, Chris?
            Oui! ...which I assume is pronounced, "Ow-ee!"

            Comment


              #7
              Which is your favourite Race a Monkey quartet?

              Comment


                #8
                Originally posted by hal9000 View Post
                Which is your favourite Race a Monkey quartet?
                Hard to say. But I love the "Erotic" symphony!

                Comment


                  #9
                  Originally posted by Michael View Post
                  Hard to say. But I love the "Erotic" symphony!
                  Almost as kinky as his oral symphony on pasta.

                  Comment

                  Working...
                  X