Lunchtime howlers

[MrGongGong]

Problem is, 'Shakspear' may well be the better pronunciation. Most of the contemporary spellings are variants on that (even several 'Shagspears') rather than on what we say now. I'll grant that it doesn't have a middle syllable, but...

Come off it any fule know that it should be
"Skeik-espier"........... the well known middle eastern writer
though I do like the idea of "Shagspears"

[Pabmusic]

Come off it any fule know that it should be
"Skeik-espier"........... the well known middle eastern writer
though I do like the idea of "Sharspears"

[JFLL]

Too true. I once heard Liebeslied ('love song') pronounced Leibesleid ('bodily suffering').

A new twist is 'Liebesfraud' for 'Liebesfreud', e.g. here

Since 'for decades Fritz Kreisler duped his audiences into thinking that many of his works for violin and piano were arrangements of compositions by other composers', this seems entirely appropriate.

[Roehre]

A new twist is 'Liebesfraud' for 'Liebesfreud', e.g. here

Since 'for decades Fritz Kreisler duped his audiences into thinking that many of his works for violin and piano were arrangements of compositions by other composers', this seems entirely appropriate.

[gamba]

A pleasant lunchtime piano recital from Perth today included a couple of examples of slackness from the presentation team. For the Liszt transcription of Schubert's Ständchen, we were told that the text was Shakespeare's "Hark! Hark! the Lark". Sorry to hark on about this (geddit?) but it seems to me this is not something they should be getting wrong, especially since it was pointed out that Liszt insisted on the song text being included in the programme notes. It was, of course, "Leise flehen meine Lieder", which is also called Ständchen, hence someone's confusion. I don't know if Schubert transcribed "Hark! Hark!". If so, I've never heard it and it doesn't seem to be up his street.

The announcer then failed to acknowledge the umlaut on the plural "Liebesträume" (to rhyme with "Troy"). It is strange that they should mis-pronounce the title of such well-known and oft-heard pieces of music.

You must remember the Scots are practising for the big day when they will be doing everything ' their ' way.

[ahinton]

A new twist is 'Liebesfraud' for 'Liebesfreud', e.g. here

Since 'for decades Fritz Kreisler duped his audiences into thinking that many of his works for violin and piano were arrangements of compositions by other composers', this seems entirely appropriate.

Nice one on both counts! - although perhaps "fraud"'s a tad strong for what he did (convenient though it is otherwise!).

[ahinton]

You must remember the Scots are practising for the big day when they will be doing everything ' their ' way.

Oh, they are, am I? (not that I'm an announcer or anthing of the kind, mind).

That said, I don't see any kind of Scots accent as representing a credible excuse for such gaffes.

[kernelbogey]

A new twist is 'Liebesfraud' for 'Liebesfreud', e.g. here[...]

Liebesfraud: partner who is having ein Bisschen on the Seite.

[Roehre]

Not a lunchtime howler, but a really stupid mistake here on the BBC Radio 3 website:

"Stravinsky's Concerto in D for string orchestra and Honegger's powerful Symphony No.4 (subtitled 'The Delights of Basle'), are both dedicated to the Swiss capital city."

I am pretty sure that Bern (Berne) is the Swiss capital, not Basel (Basle)

[Serial_Apologist]

Not a lunchtime howler, but a really stupid mistake here on the BBC Radio 3 website:

"Stravinsky's Concerto in D for string orchestra and Honegger's powerful Symphony No.4 (subtitled 'The Delights of Basle'), are both dedicated to the Swiss capital city."

I am pretty sure that Bern (Berne) is the Swiss capital, not Basel (Basle)

Correct Roehr.

Zurich is every other bugger's capital

[Norfolk Born]

As a result of watching 'Pointless' the other day, I can confirm that you are right. (It's a most informative programme, and Alexander and Richard are arguably the funnist double act currently on British TV).

[mercia]

Basel is the capital of the Basel-Stadt canton

[Roehre]

Basel is the capital of the Basel-Stadt canton

since the 1832-'33 Basel Civil war Basel is the only place (together with the communities at the right of the Rhine) in the Canton Basel-Stadt[teil], (car reg BS) the rest becoming independent as the Canton Basel-Land (car reg BL) the two together until 1833 the unified Canton Basel.

[Panjandrum]

The howler which has got on my goat lately was the one perpetrated by the announcer (sic) at the Elgar concert last week. At the end of the concert he told us that Elgar had completed two symphonies but died before completing a third. However, we were told that it had now been completed and the work was now known as Elgar's Third Symphony.

[Serial_Apologist]

The howler which has got on my goat lately was the one perpetrated by the announcer (sic) at the Elgar concert last week. At the end of the concert he told us that Elgar had completed two symphonies but died before completing a third. However, we were told that it had now been completed and the work was now known as Elgar's Third Symphony.

Payneful...........