# Composers with "Unfortuante" Surnames (whether mispronounced or not)



## christomacin (Oct 21, 2017)

Top of My List:

Johann Joseph *FUX* (He had none left to give)
Samuel *SCHEIDT* (Evidently had some Irish in him)


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## brianvds (May 1, 2013)

christomacin said:


> Top of My List:
> 
> Johann Joseph *FUX* (He had none left to give)
> Samuel *SCHEIDT* (Evidently had some Irish in him)


When it comes to unfortunate names, those two must definitely be on anyone's Liszt.

I have long thought Castelnuovo-Tedesco was a bit unfortunate, simply because his surname is so unwieldy and just doesn't have the same ring as Mozart or Brahms. Plus, according to Google Translate, it means "new German castel", whatever exactly that means (probably the kind of thing you'll see on the cover of a Chinese pirated CD of his work).

Which shows up the dangers of using Google translate, according to which Beethoven means Beethoven, but "beet hoven" means "bite courts." (As far as I know, it actually means "beetroot farm.")

And then there is Villa-Lobos, which could be construed to mean "manor of wolves." Not to mention the unfortunate Hugo Wolf, who apparently went nuts one full moon.

This is a fun topic, which I'll give some more thought.


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## RICK RIEKERT (Oct 9, 2017)

The English composer William Crotch.


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## eugeneonagain (May 14, 2017)

Timothy Glasscock (I bet you all saw that coming...)
Gordon McQuere.

This could all go rapidly downhill.


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## SuperTonic (Jun 3, 2010)

Do we have to limit ourselves to surnames?
The Norwegian composer Fartein Valen would like to know.


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## Pat Fairlea (Dec 9, 2015)

Spare a thought for Mikhail Mikhailovich Ippolitov-Ivanov, whom posterity will recall as "I pull it off, Ivanov", thus begging the question of what is pulled and by whom. Possibly Mikhail Mikhailovich's beard, which was strangely square.









Image source: https://alchetron.com/Mikhail-Ippolitov-Ivanov


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## Huilunsoittaja (Apr 6, 2010)

If you're like me, you might have to blink a few times to read the name correctly. I guess having the diacritics help.


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## Nereffid (Feb 6, 2013)

This sort of thread always makes me think of Titz.


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## christomacin (Oct 21, 2017)

I feel bad making fun of this composer by mispronouncing his name (it's actually "Suk" as in "book" not "buck") because he was a helluva good composer and doesn't suck at all..but I'll do it anyway:


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## christomacin (Oct 21, 2017)

The Fucik Festival is one I wouldn't mind participating in.:lol:


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## christomacin (Oct 21, 2017)

eugeneonagain said:


> Timothy Glasscock (I bet you all saw that coming...)
> Gordon McQuere.
> 
> This could all go rapidly downhill.


Tim and Gordon would probably make a nice couple.


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## MJongo (Aug 6, 2011)

Not a composer, but I have a few cds of Bach played by Butt. John Butt, that is.


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