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Other variations are beshtine, bes-shtine, besh-stine and
the regional Teutonic variations.
The most common anglicisation I hear is bekstine.
Noel Coward, known for his immaculate enunciation seems to be singing bekshtine in his song, “the stately homes of Englandâ€. It’s on utube and well worth a listen. Many of our aristocracy had traded their ageing Broadwoods for Bechstein and Bluthner by the time of the First World War.
The word had passed into common usage in England as almost a synonym for piano but currently less used.
A variation of the human form, now rarely seen, used to be referred to as ‘a fine pair of Bekstein legs’ meaning the old round fat ones.
Let’s not get into the murderous pronunciations of th umlauts in Blüthner and Bösendorfer
Amanda Reckonwith
Concert & Recording tuner-tech, London, England.
"in theory, practice and theory are the same thing. In practice, they're not." - Lawrence P. 'Yogi' Berra.
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Other variations are beshtine, bes-shtine, besh-stine and
the regional Teutonic variations.
The most common anglicisation I hear is bekstine.
Noel Coward, known for his immaculate enunciation seems to be singing bekshtine in his song, “the stately homes of Englandâ€. It’s on utube and well worth a listen. Many of our aristocracy had traded their ageing Broadwoods for Bechstein and Bluthner by the time of the First World War.
The word had passed into common usage in England as almost a synonym for piano but currently less used.
A variation of the human form, now rarely seen, used to be referred to as ‘a fine pair of Bekstein legs’ meaning the old round fat ones.
Let’s not get into the murderous pronunciations of th umlauts in Blüthner and Bösendorfer American, guilty.
Last edited by Gene Nelson; 09/18/18 11:33 AM.
x-rpt
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People in some parts of the UK have trouble with the /ch/ sound, as in the German "Ach".
In my part of the UK it isn't a problem, but I knew a couple from elsewhere who lived in a place near here called Cloch (with the 'ach' type /ch/, not the /ch/ as in 'cheese), and the whole time they lived there, they called it Clock.
And of course there is the infamous "It's a braw bricht moonlicht nicht the nicht"...… (Scots vernacular for It's a fine bright moonlit night tonight).
(If you listen to Marcus Roberts in the excellent Roberts Pianos videos on YouTube, you can hear that he always says Beckstein).
Last edited by David Boyce; 09/18/18 11:50 AM.
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In my part of the UK it isn't a problem, but I knew a couple from elsewhere who lived in a place near here called Cloch (with the 'ach' type /ch/, not the /ch/ as in 'cheese), and the whole time they lived there, they called it Clock.
And of course there is the infamous "It's a braw bricht moonlicht nicht the nicht"...… (Scots vernacular for It's a fine bright moonlit night tonight).
.
That figures.... When I go up north to climb myself (all 1,345m of myself) all my clocks turn to clochs, and of course 'locks' turn to 'lochs'. BTW, I always drive past Lock Ness, and Nessie always reminds me to pronounce his home properly.
If music be the food of love, play on!
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Nessie is female!
But doesn't exist.
TV zoologist Chris Packham explained that there isn't enough nutrition in Loch Ness to feed a large aquatic creature. Loch Ness is not a totally enclosed lake, but is open to the North Sea. A large Baltic sturgeon, which can grow to seven metres in length, might swim in looking for food, find none, and swim out again.
But yes, "loch" is another excellent example of the /ch/ sound which some English-speakers struggle with.
Last edited by David Boyce; 09/18/18 01:04 PM.
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Ultimately, it’s such an iconic name that it hardly matters how it’s pronounced.
Sixty years ago I heard someone from a remote community refer to a backsteen and I knew exactly what they meant.
Of course, marketing of cheap pianos being what it was, their piano may well have said Backsteen on the fallboard.
Amanda Reckonwith
Concert & Recording tuner-tech, London, England.
"in theory, practice and theory are the same thing. In practice, they're not." - Lawrence P. 'Yogi' Berra.
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As that great composer/conductor/pianist/educator/polymath is celebrating his 100th birthday this year - in the UK, if not USA  - I wonder how Bernstein is pronounced by Americans. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAgvo-FslIohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PlQHowG9Sz0Here, everyone calls him "Burn-stine" (actually, more frequently 'Lenny'  ) but I've frequently heard Americans call him "Burn-steen". So, which is correct?
If music be the food of love, play on!
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Ultimately, it’s such an iconic name that it hardly matters how it’s pronounced. Indeed yes. Someone should do a PhD thesis on the marketing acumen of Carl Bechstein. He really was a marketing whizz. The sheer market penetration in the UK was extraordinary. It's probably the single brand I encounter most often - all pre world war one. (Not counting 1970s Whelpdale Maxwell & Codd pianos in schools).
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