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Composer & Artist Names, Said Correctly

Names from the concert hall and the gallery, said the way their countries do.

ChopinSHOH-pan

Polish-French composer — silent final N.

Dvorakduh-VOR-zhahk

Czech composer — the R has a unique "rzh" sound.

Van Goghvan GOKH

Dutch — the GH is a guttural sound with no English equivalent; "van GO" is the common English approximation.

Debussydeh-byoo-SEE

French composer — stress the last syllable.

Tchaikovskychy-KOF-skee

Russian — starts with a CH sound despite the T.

Saint-Saenssan-SAHNS

French composer, nasal throughout.

Gauguingoh-GAN

French painter — nasal ending.

Rachmaninoffrakh-MAH-nih-nof

Russian composer, four syllables.

KlimtKLIMT

Austrian painter — straightforward, but often mumbled.

Basquiatbahs-kee-AH

American artist of Haitian/Puerto Rican descent — French-influenced final syllable.

Vermeerver-MEER

Dutch painter — stress the second syllable.

Sibeliussih-BAY-lee-us

Finnish composer, four syllables.

More mispronounced word lists

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