Richard Pennycuick muses on Russian transliteration:

>When I first encountered the composer some years ago, his name was spelt
>Miaskovsky, and I assumed that it was pronounced MEE-AH-SKOFF-SKEE.  In
>recent years, it's changed to Myaskovsky, which some have pronounced as
>MY-AH-SKOFF-SKEE.  I wondered whether the more recent spelling is an
>attempt to combine M and YAH (as in the German Ja) into one syllable.
>Any thoughts?

My father's a retired Russian linguist and we have almost come to blows
over my lack of understanding several times in the past.  Basically,
the linguistic world has moved towards a (supposedly) more 'PC' form of
transliteration which shows Tchaikovsky (the French transliteration) as
Chaikovski, Scriabin as Skryabin, Taneyev as Taneiev and Shostakovitch as
Shostakovij.  Unfortunately for the purists, the rest of the world (i.e.
producers, retailers, performers, consumers and moi) have failed miserably
to keep up with this -- or even to understand why it is necessary.  I
suppose it's the same syndrome as Peking/Beijing and Bombay/Mumbai.
Meanwhile it plays havoc with trying to research anything Russian!

PS: However it's spelt, the prononciation is apprently MEE-AH-SKOFF-SKEE,
I am reliably - and forcibly - informed -- with the emphasis on SKOFF:-)

Tim Mahon
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