Talk:Ein Heldenleben

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--JeffGBot (talk) 01:30, 20 June 2011 (UTC)

 Done Brambleclawx 21:20, 15 July 2011 (UTC)

Title

With due respect to WP's preference for the vernacular, does any English-speaking person refer to this work as "A Hero's Life"? The BBC, the South Bank, the Barbican and the record companies call it Ein Heldenleben. Would anyone object to my moving this article to the German title? Tim riley (talk) 22:49, 11 April 2013 (UTC)

Further to the above, I see that the New York Philharmonic, the Chicago Symphony, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Boston Symphony, the Sydney Symphony, the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra, Dublin and the Montreal Symphony refer to the work as Ein Heldenleben and not A Hero's Life. – Tim riley (talk) 12:08, 1 September 2013 (UTC)

[Clarifying – full disclosure, etc: I have asked some of the regular contributors to WP classical music articles to comment.] Tim riley (talk) 17:47, 1 September 2013 (UTC)

I think you are absolutely right. I have never known the English version of the title to be given priority over the German original. None of my various music history/reference books do this. I think moving the title to the German original, and varying the first line of the article accordingly, is entirely justifiable. Brianboulton (talk) 15:36, 1 September 2013 (UTC)

Agreed with Tim and Brian. Every source I've come across, including the New Grove, uses the German title. The article should be retitled, with the English translation in parentheses, instead of the other way around as it is currently. Jonyungk (talk) 17:36, 1 September 2013 (UTC)

I can't imagine how I missed your question. Tim. It's more often seen in the English version down here, often with the German in brackets. Here, for example. When broadcast on radio, it's usually announced as "A Hero's Life", but yes, sometimes as "Ein Heldenleben". I do have a preference for the English, but if the consensus is for the German, I'm OK with that. -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 19:45, 1 September 2013 (UTC)

I have to say that here in the UK and also the US (where a fair bit of my writing on 'classical' music is published) I have the same experience as Tim, Brian and Jonyungk, so having the default title as 'A Hero's Life' looks a bit odd to me (rather as if someone insisted on having Hindemith's Trauermusik filed primarily as "Mourning Music"). Alfietucker (talk) 00:28, 2 September 2013 (UTC)

Now that would be going too far.  :) -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 00:45, 2 September 2013 (UTC)

For what my departing opinion is worth, I concur with Tim, Brian and Jonyungk. Not that I impugn the Southern Hemisphere, but the balance does seem to be with the original German.--Smerus (talk) 19:14, 2 September 2013 (UTC)

I also support Ein Heldenleben. Kleinzach 23:19, 2 September 2013 (UTC)

And now done. Tim riley (talk) 12:27, 6 September 2013 (UTC)

Late to the discussion, but this piece is played often on classical music stations all over the U.S. (I've lived all over the U.S.) and is always called "Ein Heldenleben". In fact it's often not even translated afterwards for the German-impaired. It's so well known by its German name that at this point people already understand the meaning. I'm just posting this because it's not clear to me that an American has opined here yet. Softlavender (talk) 13:53, 8 December 2013 (UTC)

Just to add a post-script, the 2018 BBC Proms refers to the piece as "Prom 24: A Hero’s Life". However, it is usually referenced at concerts and the radio in its German version. Incidentally, they are also using "An Alpine Symphony", although in this case the German and English are almost the same. Byronmercury (talk) 15:11, 21 May 2018 (UTC)

Reading through these comments,I took out my orchestral score from the 1979 DOVER Publications ,INC and thought it interesting to quote what this publisher says about the title. Both German and English titles are listed on the first page namely

"""""EIN HELDENLEBEN & A HERO'S LIFE but a note is written at the very bottom of this first page NOTE:We have retained the standard translation "A HERO'S LIFE" but a truer version would be "A HEROIC LIFE. """"A Heros's Life would correspond to DAS Leben eines Helden or Eines Helden Leben""""-end of quotation."""""""

So as my German is extremely basic ,I leave it to native German native speaking to develop this point of view.

DOREMI FASOLLA