how to pronounce...

[CK]

saint-saens and Mahler ?  Thnx

[George]

The h in Mahler is silent.

Two syllables:

Ma (like mother) - ler (like ler in Butler) 

[CK]

thnx.

also forgot about haydn.  is it Hay-den or Hi-den?

[quintett op.57]

Saint-Saëns :

hard to explain, no other european language use the first vowel sound (ain) , I think.
The second vowel sound (aën) also exists in polish and portuguese, but not in english.
Both sounds come from the nose.

Don't pronounce the "t"
But pronounce every "s"

[andy]

This link will tell you almost all you need about pronunciation of composer's names
http://www.pronunciationguide.org/

[quintett op.57]

This link will tell you almost all you need about pronunciation of composer's names
http://www.pronunciationguide.org/

not really, they give the example of Messiaen.
Messiaen's "aen" has to be pronounced the same way than Saint-Saëns' "ain" actually (to be honest, I'm not sure, everyone does not pronounce it the same way).
Saint-Saëns' "aën" is usually written "an" or "en".

Interesting link anyway.

[andy]

not really, they give the example of Messiaen.
Messiaen's "aen" has to be pronounced the same way than Saint-Saëns' "ain" actually (to be honest, I'm not sure, everyone does not pronounce it the same way).
Saint-Saëns' "aën" is usually written "an" or "en".

Interesting link anyway.

True enough... I guess I should rephrase my statement to say, enough to not look like an idiot when pronouncing composer's names in public

[orbital]

The h in Mahler is silent.

Two syllables:

Ma (like mother) - ler (like ler in Butler) 

I did not know that. I thought "H" was pronounced. And the second syllable pronounced as in "[La] Mer"

[George]

I did not know that. I thought "H" was pronounced. And the second syllable pronounced as in "[La] Mer"

That's not my understanding. 

[The Emperor]

Saint-Saëns :

hard to explain, no other european language use the first vowel sound (ain) , I think.
The second vowel sound (aën) also exists in polish and portuguese, but not in english.
Both sounds come from the nose.

Don't pronounce the "t"
But pronounce every "s"

The sound of (aën) i could agree we use, like in my name João, but we don't have the "ä" in our languange. just the "ã" and only with the "a", no other letter.

Talking about Portuguese of course, a bit of topic but...

[rappy]

In case of Mahler and Haydn:

Haydn = Hi - den (stress on Hi)

Mahler = Ma (a long "Ma" like the ma in "mark" (but without the r!) ) - ler (speak "fair" and replace the f with an l)

The h in Mahler means that the a must be long.

That was the wisdom of a native German ;-)

[jochanaan]

The two nasal sounds in Saint-Saëns' name are rather difficult for non-French-speakers to master.  Lift the back of your tongue like you were doing an "ng" sound, but don't quite close it.  For "Saint" you should have a vowel sound that's close to the "an" of "and," while for Saëns the vowel is close to the English "on."  I believe that, properly, the final S is NOT pronounced.

Ogden Nash was apparently frustrated enough with this name's pronunciation to write,
"Camille Saint-Saëns was racked with pains
When people addressed him as Saint Sains.
He held the human race to blame
Because it could not pronounce his name." --from the verses for Carnival of the Animals

[Szykneij]

This link will tell you almost all you need about pronunciation of composer's names
http://www.pronunciationguide.org/

Great link, Andy!

[JoshLilly]

Maybe of interest, native speakers pronouncing:

Bedřich Smetana - http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/ba/Cs-Bedrich_Smetana.ogg
Dmitri Shostakovich - http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/10/Ru-Dmitri_Dmitrievich_Shostakovich.ogg
Antonín Dvořák - http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d1/Cs-Antonin_Dvorak.ogg

[Larry Rinkel]

In case of Mahler and Haydn:

Haydn = Hi - den (stress on Hi)

Mahler = Ma (a long "Ma" like the ma in "mark" (but without the r!) ) - ler (speak "fair" and replace the f with an l)

The h in Mahler means that the a must be long.

That was the wisdom of a native German ;-)

Rappy, if Mahler had been a painter, how would you pronounce Mahler der Maler?

[Scriptavolant]

Same thing here. Russian native speaker pronounces some name (click on the image):

http://digilander.libero.it/alebeat/Compositorirussi.htm

[rappy]

Rappy, if Mahler had been a painter, how would you pronounce Mahler der Maler?

In German it would actually be the same. Since there's only one L after the a, the a is long anyway.

[Mahlered]

Rappy, if Mahler had been a painter, how would you pronounce Mahler der Maler?

In German it would actually be the same. Since there's only one L after the a, the a is long anyway.

I was honestly very confused the first time I heard someone say "Hindemith's Mathis der Maler Symphony."
Mind you, this was before I knew much about either Hindemith OR Mahler! And certainly before I studied any German.

[Kullervo]

How do you pronounce Leoš Janáček? and Mieczysław Weinberg?

[quintett op.57]

leh osh Yanachek

M yeah chuh swav vineberg