Tim Mahon wrote:

>Yes -- they should both have the final 's' pronounced.  I just did a
>concert preview for the Pittsburgh Symphony in California a couple of
>weeks ago and discovered while researching Berlioz (they did a MAGNIFICENT
>Fantastique -- really big-boned sound) that he had terrible problems when
>he first moved to Paris getting people to pronouce the 'z' at the end of
>his name.  Everybody assumed it was 'Berlio' and it wasn't till he was well
>established that the problem went away!

Swiss (?) conductor Michel Corboz has the same problem, as people always
hesitate between 'Corboz' (with the 'z' pronounced) and 'Corbo' (without
the 'z' pronounced).  Things get a bit tougher when you consider that in
French, 'corbeau' (exactly the same pronounciation as 'corbo') means
'raven'.

'Boulez', pronounced like 'Chavez' (but with a softer 'z'), is a strange
case, because if it was a conjugated verb and not a surname, you wouldn't
have to pronounce the final 'z'.

Simon Corley
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