Your personal nicknames for composers and musicians

[springrite]

For some reason... well, I know, entirely due to a Monty Python sketch, I can't help but call Sir Edward Elgar "Eddie Baby".

[Karl Henning]

I speak of Boulez as "Bunny."

[Jo498]

I disapprove of using nicknames with persons with whom one is not on friendly and personal terms. Which applies to me and all or most classical musicians. So unless a nickname is generally used in preference of the real name (like a nom de plume or so), I'd much rather do without.

[Brian]

My college roommate and I always refer to DSCH as "Shosty".

[Jo498]

Abbreviations on the internet are o.k. because "Shostakovich" is a lot to write and I always have to concentrate not to spell it the "German" way (Schostakowitsch).
But I really hate the mock familiarity of people who seem to find it funny to refer to Haydn as "Joe". For me this is mainly silly, but also sounds denigrating and lack of respect (independent of whether I care for the artist in question).
Unfortunately, many from the Anglosphere are completely unable to understand such feelings and find it continental European squareness.

[Todd]

Unfortunately, many from the Anglosphere are completely unable to understand such feelings and find it continental European squareness.

I wouldn't call it continental European squareness so much as inane, uptight formality.

[Jo498]

You prove my point and I rest my case.

[Cato]

The RACH !!!



Yes, I AM smiling! 

[Bogey]

Shosty
Wolfie
Papa


Herbie (HvK)


Johnny Williams
Bernie (Herrmann)


You can call me Ray.....

[MishaK]

Unfortunately, many from the Anglosphere are completely unable to understand such feelings and find it continental European squareness.

You speak for the continent?

It's time we stop worshipping the composers and concentrate on the music. The composers were all feeble petty little poopers like everyone else.

[Jo498]

Again, you prove my point. If you cannot distinguish basic respect and degrees of familiarity from "worshipping", it's simply futile to discuss the issue.
I did so two or three times on another forum to no avail. At least one guy from the Netherlands completely agreed with me there (maybe more, I do not remember all details) and on a German language forum almost everybody also shared my position when the topic came up whereas Brits and Americans were struggling to even understand how we could find this utterly childish and disrespectful behavior. It seems a cultural thing.

[Christo]

Continental or incontinental, what I dislike is the refusal to spell names like François Couperin, Antonín Dvořák, Leoš Janáček, Ernő Dohnányi, György Kurtág, Péter Eötvös, Hristić, Šulek, Blaž Arnič, Alfvén, Čiurlionis, Kęstutis Antanėlis, Søderlind, Mäntyjärvi, Jānis Mediņš, Różycki, Mieczysław Karłowicz, Lutosławski, Drăgoi, Ţăranu, Eugène Ysaÿe, Häagen-Dazs, Pierre Boulez, Estêvão de Brito, Cemal Reşit Rey, Kamran İnce or even Pärt, Rääts or Tüür correctly.

I think it's true: nicknames are a more common phenomenon among migrant populations living on the wrong side of the Atlantic North Sea pond history. Calling Boulez 'Bunny' looks like an established tradition though.

[Todd]

Again, you prove my point. If you cannot distinguish basic respect and degrees of familiarity from "worshipping", it's simply futile to discuss the issue.

I'm pretty certain that MishaK, and everyone on this forum, can quite easily distinguish between respect and worship, since they are in fact quite different, and that the language used was for effect - which worked, as it turns out.

I wonder if it has occurred to you that using nicknames can be a way to show affection.  Perhaps people from overly rigid, formal societies will never understand that, or at least people from certain segments of those societies.  You are correct that discussion is futile.  Rigid, formal people and more irreverent people appear to have different ways of viewing the world.  Thank goodness.

[NJ Joe]

Clapton is God!

[Moonfish]

Abbreviations on the internet are o.k. because "Shostakovich" is a lot to write and I always have to concentrate not to spell it the "German" way (Schostakowitsch).
But I really hate the mock familiarity of people who seem to find it funny to refer to Haydn as "Joe". For me this is mainly silly, but also sounds denigrating and lack of respect (independent of whether I care for the artist in question).
Unfortunately, many from the Anglosphere are completely unable to understand such feelings and find it continental European squareness.

I completely agree with you Jo! Nicknames (in my book) seem to be reserved for people one actually know.  I do not use nick names for anybody.  0:)   Well, occasionally for people I really dislike.       
Nicknames for composers generally drive me crazy.  In my mind it is definitely disrespectful (unless one actually knows the composer in person and interact via nicknames in conversation [perhaps a lot of GMGers do     he he). However, everybody is different....our society is so easy going and happy after all, right?
I don't see any reason whatsoever to dream up funny/strange/weird nicknames for composers whose music I admire (or dislike for that matter). The aspect of affection appears idiotic. However, it seems like a perfectly inane topic to argue about in The Diner! What else is new?

[Wakefield]

No doubt, there is no one peaceful issue under the sun... even the tiniest. 

[EigenUser]

Morton Feldman -- Morty (everyone called him this)
Maurice Ravel -- Ra-ra (his brother used to call him this when they were kids)

That's all I can think of for now.

[springrite]

Morton Feldman -- Morty (everyone called him this)

Yes, I use that one.

[Bogey]

Clapton is God!

[TheGSMoeller]

Karl Henning - The Dude