The Big List of Names
This list is not meant as an exhaustive reference; you can try to use it as such, but I make no guarantees about comprehensiveness. The portions on specific languages are meant to provide examples for anyone trying to learn to pronounce those languages. The other portions at the bottom present a list of names, some well-known and others more obscure, which for one reason or another cannot be dealt with by the rules listed elsewhere in this guide.
Note that some of the Central European names below appear without important diacritics, due to technological limitations. However there is a special Central European list which displays all the same names in their fully correct spellings. Names that are shown without diacritics below are marked with asterisks.
Index
- Foreign Names: Czech Danish Dutch Estonian Finnish Flemish French German Hungarian Italian Norwegian Polish Portuguese Romanian Russian Slovak Spanish Swedish
- British and American names
- other languages, mixtures and idiosyncracies
- Ensemble names
German names, and others that might as well be
| Claus Adam | klows ah-dahm ![[audio sample]](images/audio.gif) |
| Bayreuth | biy-royt (never to be confused with Beirut!) |
| Ludwig van Beethoven | lood-vig fahn bay-toh-ven |
| Alban Berg | ahl-bahn behrg |
| Heinrich von Biber | hiyn-rikh fon bee-ber |
| Karl Boehm | böm (or approximately, bu(r)m) |
| Willi Boskovsky | vil-lee bos-koff-skee |
| Frans Brüggen | frahns brü-gen (it's actually Dutch, but don't say it that way) |
| Hans von Bülow | fon bü-loh |
| Dietrich Buxtehude | books-teh-hood-uh |
| Jörg Demus | yurg day-moos |
| Kurt Equiluz | koort ay-kvee-loots |
| Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau | dee-trisch fih-sher dees-kow |
| Friedrich von Flotow | free-drisch fon flaw-toh |
| Wilhelm Furtwängler | vill-helm foort-vehn-gler |
| Gächinger Kantorei | gaysch-ing-er kahn-tor-iy |
| Michael Gielen | mee-schiyl gee-lehn |
| Andreas Groethuysen | ahn-dray-ahs grö-toy-zen (the name is Dutch, but he is German) |
| Ernst Haefliger | hef-li-ger |
| Georg Friedrich Händel | gay-org free-drisch hehn-dehl (German version) |
| George Frederic Handel | "George Frederic Handle" (English version) |
| Paul Hindemith | powl hin-de-mit (rhymes with "pit", NOT with "myth") |
| Johann Nepomuk Hummel | yoh-hahn nep-uh-mook hoo-mel (oo as in "book") |
| Eugen Jochum | oy-ghen yoh-khum |
| Herbert von Karajan | hehr-bert fon kah-rah-yahn |
| Rudolf Kempe | roo-dolf kem-puh |
| Walter Klien | vahl-ter kleen |
| Hans Knappertsbusch | knah-perts-boosh (rhymes with "bush") |
| Franz Lehár | lay-har |
| Gustav Leonhardt | goos-tahv lay-on-hart |
| Emmy Loose | em-mee loh-zuh |
| Kurt Masur | koort mah-zoor |
| Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | vohlf-gahng ah-ma-day-oos moht-zart |
| Hermann Prey | hehr-mahn priy (rhymes with "rye", NOT with "ray") |
| RIAS | spell out, or say ree-ahs ; acronym for Radio in the American Sector (of Berlin, during the Cold War) |
| Artur Schnabel | ahr-toor shnah-bel |
| Othmar Schoeck | ot-mar shök |
| Arnold Schoenberg | schön-berg |
| Robert Schumann | ro-behrt shoo-mahn |
| Elisabeth Schwarzkopf | eh-lee-zah-beht shvarts-kopf |
| Staatskapelle | shtahts-kuh-pell-uh |
| Richard Strauss | ree-khard shtrows (rhymes with "house") |
| Klaus Tennstedt | klows tenn-shtet |
| Christian Thielemann | kris-tyahn tee-leh-mahn |
| Richard Wagner | ree-khard vahg-ner |
| Kurt Weill | koort viyl (like the word "vile"); though after he emigrated to the United States he was known as kurt "while" |
| Hugo Wolf | hoo-go volf |
| Fritz Wunderlich | voon-der-lisch (or voon-der-likh) |
Titles:
| Also sprach Zarathustra | ahl-zoh shprakh tsah-rah-toos-trah |
| Davidsbündlertänze | dah-veedz-bünd-ler-tents-uh |
| Dichterliebe | disch-ter-lee-buh |
| Götterdämmerung | gö-ter-dehm-mer-oong |
| Grosse Fuge | gro-suh foo-guh (or just say "Great Fugue") |
| Gurrelieder | gurr-uh-lee-der |
| Kinderszenen | kin-der-stsay-nen (a common approximation is kin-der-zay-nen ) |
| Tannhäuser | tahn-hoy-zer |
| Verklärte Nacht | fehr-klehr-tuh nahkht |
Dutch/Flemish
| Anner Bylsma | ah-ner bilz-muh |
| Concertgebouw Orchestra | kuhn-sehrt-guh-bow (rhymes with "now") |
| Bernard Haitink | behr-nard hiy-teenk |
| Wieland Kuijken | wee-luhnd kow-ken (Dutch w = v, but Flemish w = w) |
| Sigiswald Kuijken | see-gihs-wahlt |
| Barthold Kuijken | bar-tolt |
| Jaap ter Linden | yahp tehr lin-den |
Danish/Swedish/Norwegian
| Franz Berwald | frans behr-vahld |
| Niels Gade | neelz gah-thuh (last syllable as in the word "the") |
| Mariss Jansons | mar-iss yahn-sohns |
| Per Nørgård | pehr nör-gor |
| Leif Segerstam | layf say-ger-stahm |
| Elisabeth Söderström | sö-der-strum (initial s is NOT z as in German) |
| Wilhelm Stenhammar | vil-helm sten-hahm-er |
| Erik T. Tawaststjerna | tah-vahst-shtehr-nah (or simplify to tah-vahs-chehr-nah ) |
| Mogens Wöldike | mo-wens völ-di-keh |
Title:
| Peer Gynt | Anglicized as peer ghint , though original Norwegian = pehr yünt |
French and related
| Adolphe-Charles Adam | ah-dolf sharl ah-dahm |
| Charles-Henri Alkan | sharl awn-ree ahl-kahn |
| Ernest Ansermet | ehr-nest ahn-sehr-may |
| Auber | oh-behr |
| Beaux Arts Trio | "Boze Ar" or "Boze Art", but definitely not "Bow Art" |
| Hector Berlioz | behr-lee-ohz |
| Georges Bizet | zhorzh bee-zay |
| Leon Boellmann | lay-ohn boh-ell-mahn |
| Nadia Boulanger | nahd-ya boo-lahn-zhay |
| Pierre Boulez | pyehr boo-lez |
| Robert Cadadesus | roh-behr kah-sah-deh-sü |
| Charpentier | shar-pahn-tyay |
| René Clemencic | re-nay kleh-mahn-seek |
| François Couperin | frahn-swah koo-per-an |
| Claude Debussy | klohd deh-bü-see |
| Michel-Richard Delalande | mee-shel ree-shar duh lah-lawnd |
| Leo Delibes | lay-oh deh-leeb |
| Guillaume Dufay | ghee-yohm dü-fiy (rhymes with "sky") |
| Paul Dukas | pol dü-kah |
| Henri Dutilleux | awn-ree dü-tee-yö (or doo-tee-yuh) |
| Charles Dutoit | sharl dü-twah |
| Pierre Fournier | pyehr foor-nyay |
| Arthur Honegger | ar-tur on-neh-gehr |
| Jacques Ibert | zhak ee-behr |
| Vincent D'Indy | van-son dahn-dee |
| Josquin Des Prez | zho-skan day pray |
| Charles Koechlin | sharl kösh-lan |
| Olivier Messiaen | oh-lee-vee-yay mess-see-ehn |
| Darius Milhaud | dah-ree-üs mee-yoh |
| Pierre Monteux | pyehr mon-tö (or mon-tuh) |
| Francis Poulenc | frahn-sees poo-lenk |
| Christophe Rousset | roo-say |
| Camille Saint-Saëns | kuh-meel sahn-sawnz |
| Gérard Souzay | zhehr-ard soo-zay |
| Jean-Yves Thibaudet | zhahn-eev tee-boh-day |
| Eugène Ysäye | ö-zhehn ee-ziy |
Titles:
| Bransle (an early-baroque dance) | brahn-luh (last syllable very short) |
| Jeux | zhö |
| Lakmé | lahk-may |
| Les Nuits d'été | lay nwee day-tay |
Italian
| Luciano Berio | loo-tchahn-oh bay-ree-oh |
| Luigi Boccherini | loo-ee-jee bok-keh-ree-nee |
| Luigi Cherubini | loo-ee-jee kehr-roo-bee-nee |
| Luigi Dallapiccola | dah-lah-pee-koh-lah |
| Giovanni Gabrieli | jo-vahn-nee gah-bree-el-lee (first name has only three syllables!) |
| Carlo Maria Giulini | joo-lee-nee |
| Pietro Mascagni | pyay-troh mah-skahn-yee |
| Gian Carlo Menotti | djahn (similar to "John") kar-lo me-not-tee |
| Luciano Pavarotti | loo-chah-noh |
| Ottorino Respighi | ot-toh-ree-noh res-pee-ghee |
| Giuseppe Sinopoli | joo-zeh-peh see-noh-poh-lee |
Titles:
| Così fan tutte | koh-zee fahn too-teh |
| La Forza del Destino | lah for-tsah dehl des-tee-noh |
| Francesca da Rimini | fran-cheh-ska dah ree-mee-nee |
| Gianni Schicchi | jahn-nee skee-kee |
| Semiramide | seh-mee-rah-mee-day |
| Il Trovatore | eel troh-vah-toh-ray |
Romanian
| Sergiu Celibidache | sehr-joo chel-ih-bih-dah-kay |
| Ileana Cotrubas | ee-leh-ah-nah koht-roo-bahsh (in Romanian this s carries a diacritic to distinguish it
from an ordinary s sound, but it's almost never printed this way by non-Romanians) |
Spanish
| Carlos Chávez | kar-lohs tchah-vays (or tchah-vehz) |
| Plácido Domingo | plah-thee-doh (European Spanish c/z = th instead of s) |
| Manuel de Falla | mahn-well day fiy-yah |
| Alberto Ginastera | hee-nah-stehr-ah |
| Jesus López-Cobos | hay-sooss loh-pays koh-bohs |
Title:
| El Amor Brujo | ayl ah-mor broo-hoh |
Portuguese
| Guiomar Novaes | ghee-yoh-mar no-viysh |
| Maria João Pires | mah-ree-ah zhoh-own peer-esh |
| Heitor Villa-Lobos | hay-tor vee-lah loh-boosh |
Titles:
| Bachianas Brasileiras | bah-kee-yah-nuhsh brah-zee-lehr-uhsh |
| Chôros | shoh-roosh |
Russian and related
| Irina Arkhipova | ee-ree-nah ar-khee-po-vah |
| Vladimir Ashkenazy | vla-dee-meer ahsh-ken-ah-zee (Anglicized vla-di-meer is also fine) |
| Alexander Borodin | bohr-ruh-deen (this is Anglicized; full Russian is bah-rah-deen) |
| Fyodor Chaliapin | shahl-lyah-pin (it's a French spelling, thus ch = sh) |
| Sofia Gubaidulina | goo-biy-doo-lee-nah |
| Aram Khachaturian | katch-uh-toor-ee-uhn (Anglicized); technically it should be more like khah-chah-toor-yahn ) |
| Evgeny Kissin | yev-geh-nee kis-sin |
| Marina Mescheriakova | mesh-chehr-yah-ko-va (a more standard transliteration of the Russian would be Meshcheryakova) |
| Modest Mussorgsky | mo-dest |
| Sergei Prokofiev | sehr-gay pro-kohff-yeff (or somewhat Anglicized pro-kohff-ee-yev) |
| Mstislav Rostropovich | mstee-slahff ros-tro-poh-vitch (or Anglicized mist-ih-slahv ) |
| Gennady Rozhdestvensky | geh-nah-dee rozh-dyest-ven-skee (rozh-dest-ven-skee is also common) |
| Rodion Shchedrin | ruh-dyohn sheh-dreen (shch is really just a longish sh) |
| Dmitri Shostakovich | dmee-tree shos-tah-koh-vitch |
| Evgeny Svetlanov | yev-geh-nee svet-lahn-off |
| Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky | pyoh-tr eel-yich chiy-koff-skee |
| Yuri Temirkanov | teh-meer-kahn-off |
Title:
| Evgeny Onegin | yev-geh-nee (or Anglicized "Eugene" ) oh-nyeh-gin |
Czech/Slovak
As mentioned above, the names marked below with asterisks are displayed without all their proper diacritics. This amounts to incorrect spelling, a practice which is misleading but unfortunately common in the record industry. The fully correct spellings can be found on a special Central European list.
| Antonín Dvorák * | dvor-zhahk |
| Rudolf Firkusny * | feer-koosh-nee |
| Edita Gruberová | eh-dee-tah groo-behr-oh-vah |
| Leos Janácek * | lay-ohsh yahn-ah-chek |
| Ernst Krenek * | krzhen-ek (or kzhen-ek) |
| Rafael Kubelik | koo-be-lik |
| Bohuslav Martinu * | boh-hoo-slahv mar-ti-noo |
| Ivan Moravec | ee-vahn mor-a-vets |
| Josef Pálenícek * | yoh-sef pah-leh-ni-chek |
| Ivan Parík * | ee-vahn par-zheek |
| Václav Smetácek * | vahts-lahf smeh-ta-chek |
| Bedrich Smetana * | bed-rzheekh (or bed-zheekh) smeh-ta-na |
| Karl Stamic (or Stamitz) | stah-mits |
| Josef Suk | yoh-seff sook (rhymes with "book") |
| Václav Talich | vahts-lahf tah-likh |
| Jirí Válek * | yeer-zhee vah-lek |
| Jan Krtitel Vanhal * | yahn kerzh-tee-tl vahn-hahl |
| Jan Václav Hugo Vorísek * | yahn vahts-lahf hoo-goh vor-zhi-shek |
Titles:
| Taras Bulba | tah-rahs bool-bah |
| Jenufa | yeh-noo-fah |
| Vltava | vuhl-tah-vah |
| Mlady | mlah-dih |
Polish
As mentioned above, the names marked below with asterisks are displayed without all their proper diacritics. This amounts to incorrect spelling, a practice which is misleading but unfortunately common in the record industry. The fully correct spellings can be found on a special Central European list.
| Henryk Górecki | hen-rik goo-rets-kee |
| Mieczyslaw Horszowski * | myeh-chih-swahff hor-shoff-skee |
| Wanda Landowska | vahn-da lahn-doff-ska |
| Witold Lutoslawski * | vee-tolt loo-to-swahf-skee |
| Krzysztof Penderecki | kzhish-toff pen-der-ets-kee |
| Artur Rodzinski | ar-toor ro-jin-skee |
| Henryk Szering | hen-rihk shehr-ring |
| Karol Szymanowski | shih-ma-noff-skee |
Hungarian
| György Cziffra | jörj tseef-ra |
| Ernst von Dohnányi | ehrnst fon dokh-nahn-yee (first name is Germanicized version of Hungarian Ernö) |
| Antál Doráti | ahn-tahl doh-rah-tee |
| Ferenc Fricsay | feh-rents free-tchoy |
| István Kertész | eesht-vahn kehr-tayss |
| Zoltan Kodály | zohl-tahn koh-dah-yee |
| György Ligeti | jurj lih-geh-tee |
| Miklos Rozsa | meek-lohsh roh-zhah |
| György Sándor | jurj shahn-dor |
| Georg Solti | gay-org shol-tee (Anglicized "George" is also fine ) |
| Jozsef Szigeti | yoh-zhef sih-geh-tee |
| Joseph Szigeti | yoh-sef (Germanicized version, more common than Jozsef) |
| Takács String Quartet | taw-kahtch |
| Sandor Vegh | shahn-dor vayg |
Title:
| Csárdás | char-dahsh |
Finnish/Estonian
| Neeme Järvi | nay-muh yehr-vee |
| Robert Kajanus | kiy-yah-noos |
| Joonas Kokkonen | yoh-nahs koh-ko-nen |
| Olli Mustonen | oh-lee moos-toh-nin |
| Arvo Pärt | pehrt |
| Einojuhani Rautavaara | ay-no-yoo-hah-nee row-ta-vah-ra ("row" rhymes with "now") |
| Aulis Sallinen | ow-lis sah-li-nen |
| Essa-Pekka Salonen | ess-ah peh-kah sah-luh-nen |
| Jukka-Pekka Saraste | yoo-kah peh-kah sah-rah-stay |
Titles:
| Kalevala | kah-leh-vah-lah |
| Lemminkäinen's Return | leh-min-kiy-nen (Anglicized); technically should be more like leh-min-kay-ee-nen |
British and American (not as easy as you think)
The problem with English is that its spelling is less consistent than any of the other languages treated in this guide. So even if it is your native language, you may not find it obvious how to pronounce the following names. Many of the American names come originally from German, French etc., but have been adapted to American culture, so that following the rules of the original language will lead you astray.
| George Antheil | ann-tile |
| Cathy Berberian | ber-behr-ee-un (American) |
| Lennox Berkeley | lehn-ux bark-lee |
| Richard Bonynge | bahn-eeng (British) |
| Sir Adrian Boult | ay-dree-en bolt |
| Leonard Bernstein | "burn"-stine (rhymes with "pine") |
| Jan Degaetani | (American) "Jan" dih-giy-uh-tah-nee |
| Frederick Delius | dee-lee-us |
| David del Tredici | treh-dih-chee |
| John Dowland | doh-lund (dow-lund is also ok) |
| Kathleen Ferrier | fehr-ee-ur |
| Roger Goeb | (American) "Roger" gayb |
| Alan Hovhaness | hoh-vahn-ness |
| Monica Huggett | hug-it |
| Maria Jette | jet-ee |
| Leon Kirchner | kersh-ner (American) |
| Raymond Leppard | leh-pard (equal stress on both syllables) |
| James Levine | le-vine (rhymes with "vine" and "Bernstein") |
| Nathan Milstein | mill-stine (like "Bernstein") |
| Gervase de Payer | jehr-vayz duh pay-er (British) |
| Vincent Persichetti | per-sih-ket-tee |
| Henry Purcell | "purr"-sl (ALWAYS stress the first syllable) |
| George Rochberg | rock-brg |
| Frederic Rzewski | zheff-skee (pronounced just like Polish) |
| Peter Schikele | shi-kul-lee |
| Gunther Schuller | (American) gun-ther shoo-ler |
| William Schuman | shoo-mn (American; not like "Schumann") |
| Gil Shaham | ghil (hard "g") sha-hahm (Israeli origin) |
| Ivan Tcherepnin | ee-vahn tcher-rep-nin |
| Bryn Terfel | brinn tehr-vl (Welsh) |
| Ralph Vaughan Williams | rafe vawn "Williams" |
| Ellen Taafe Zwilich | tayf zwil-ik |
other languages, mixtures, and idiosyncracies
Here's a sampling of musical names with miscellaneous peculiarities that make proper pronunciation less than obvious:
| Thomas Adès | a-des (British, though the surname originates in Egypt) |
| Arleen Auger | oh-zhay (American "Arleen") |
| Martha Argerich | mar-ta ar-ger-isch (she's Argentinian, but pronounced like German) |
| Daniel Barenboim | bar-en-boym (NOT "bear"-en-boym) |
| Jorge Bolet | "George" bo-lett (Cuban, and conventionally mispronounced) |
| Frantisek Xaver Brixi | frahn-ti-shek zah-vehr bree-xee (technically there should be a hacek on the s) |
| Paata Burchuladze | pah-tuh bur-khu-lah-dzuh (Georgian) |
| Montserrat Caballe | mon-seh-raht kah-bahl-yay (Catalán) |
| Riccardo Chailly | shiy-ee |
| Alfred Cortot | al-fred cor-toh |
| Cesar Cui | say-zar kwee (he's Russian, really) |
| Carl Czerny | "chair"-nee |
| Georges Enesco | zhorzh eh-nehs-koh (French version of Romanian Enescu) |
| Montserrat Figueras | mon-seh-raht fee-gehr-rahs (Catalán) |
| Angela Gheorghiu | gay-or-gyoo (Romanian) |
| Emil Gilels | ay-meel ghil-elz (hard g) |
| Reinhold Glière | riyn-hold glee-ehr (German + French; yet he's actually Russian...) |
| Gothenburg Symphony | gah-thin-brg (Anglicized version of Swedish Göteborg) |
| Nikolaus Harnoncourt | nih-ko-"louse" ar-non-koor (or Anglicized har-nuhn-koort ) |
| Philippe Herreweghe | fil-leep hehr-eh-vay-guh (Belgian = French + Flemish) |
| Jascha Horenstein | yah-shuh hor-en-shtiyn |
| René Jacobs | reh-nay yah-kobs |
| Antonio Janigro | ahn-toh-nyoh yah-nee-groh |
| Kiri te Kanawa | kee-ree teh kah-nuh-wuh (the name is Maori, from New Zealand) |
| Orlandus Lassus | lahs-oos (Latin version) |
| Roland de Lassus | ro-lahn duh lah-sü (French version) |
| Orlando di Lasso | (Italian version ; all three are the same person) |
| Zdenek Mácal | zdeh-nyek mah-tsahl (hacek on the second e), but he is more widely known by the Americanized version: zdeh-nek muh-kall ) |
| Franck Martin | frahnk mar-tan (Swiss, NOT British or American!) |
| Zubin Mehta | zoo-bin may-tuh (Indian) |
| Yehudi Menuhin | ye-hoo-dee men-yoo-in (Anglicized pronunciation of an Israeli name) |
| Dimitri Mitropoulos | mih-troh-poo-los (Greek) |
| Frederic Mompou | freh-der-eek mom-poo (Catalán) |
| Charles Munch | sharl münsh (or Americanized: "Charles Moonch" ) |
| Václav Neumann | vats-lahf noy-mahn (Czech + German) |
| Seiji Ozawa | say-jee oh-zah-wah (Japanese) |
| Antonín Rejcha (Anton Reicha) | riy-khuh (Czech, but usually spelled and pronounced as German) |
| Sviatoslav Richter | sfyah-to-slahv rikh-ter (Russian + German) |
| Jordi Savall | jor-dee suh-vahl (Catalán) |
| Alfred Schnittke | shnitt-kuh (actually Russian, but a German name) |
| Skip Sempé | sehm-pay |
| Jean Sibelius | zhahn sih-bay-lyoos (Finnish composer, but first name is French, last is Latin) |
| Jan Sibelius | yahn (Swedish version, though Sibelius preferred the French) |
| George Szell | sell (Hungarian last name) |
| Mitsuko Uchida | mee-ts-koh oo-chee-da (Japanese, with very short voiceless u between consonants) |
| Roger Voisin | "Roger" (as in English) vwah-zan |
| Charles-Marie Widor | sharl-ma-ree vee-dor |
| Iannis Xenakis | yah-nis zeh-nah-kis (Greek) |
| Pinchas Zuckerman | peen-kus zoo-ker-mn (Israeli name somewhat Anglicized) |
Titles:
| Carmina Burana | kar-mee-nah boo-rah-nah (Latin) |
| Terpsichore | terp-sih-kor-ree (ancient Greek) |
Ensemble names
Most of these are just peculiar enough not to fit neatly in any linguistic category.
| Capriccio Stravagante | kuh-pree-chee-oh strah-vah-gahn-tay |
| Collegium Aureum | ko-lay-ghee-oom ow-ree-oom (hard g in "Collegium") |
| Collegium Musicum | ko-lay-ghee-oom moo-zee-koom |
| Concentus Musicus Wien | kuhn-tsen-tus moo-zee-kus veen (or "of Vienna" instead of "Wien") |
| Ensemble Intercontemporain | ahn-sahm-bluh an-tehr-kon-tahm-por-ehn |
| Hespèrion XX | hehs-pehr-ee-un "twenty" (or "twenty-one" for their more recent recordings) |
| Sequentia | see-quen-tsee-uh |
| Tragicomedia | tra-ji-ko-may-dee-uh |
