Richard Freed
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Richard Donald Freed (December 27, 1928 – January 1, 2022) was an American
music critic '' The Oxford Companion to Music'' defines music criticism as "the intellectual activity of formulating judgments on the value and degree of excellence of individual works of music, or whole groups or genres". In this sense, it is a branch of m ...
, program annotator and administrator. He was noted for the concert program notes he authored for various orchestras and ensembles in the US.


Early life

Freed was born in
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
on December 27, 1928. His father immigrated to the United States from Russia and ran a furniture store; his mother was a housewife. He was raised in
Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa ( ) is the List of municipalities in Oklahoma, second-most-populous city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the List of United States cities by population, 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The po ...
, where he read about music and records with the 1941 Victor catalog as bedside book. He studied at the
University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...
where he received his Bachelor of Philosophy degree in 1947. Freed first worked as a contributing editor at the '' Saturday Review''. He went on to be assistant director to Irving Kolodin from 1962 to 1963, and as a staff critic for ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' and ''The Audio Beat'' two years later.


Career

Freed was an assistant to the director of the
University of Rochester The University of Rochester is a private university, private research university in Rochester, New York, United States. It was founded in 1850 and moved into its current campus, next to the Genesee River in 1930. With approximately 30,000 full ...
's
Eastman School of Music The Eastman School of Music is the music school of the University of Rochester, a private research university in Rochester, New York, United States. Established in 1921 by celebrated industrialist and philanthropist George Eastman, it was the ...
(1966–1970) and director of
public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. Pu ...
for the
St. Louis Symphony Orchestra The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra (SLSO) is an American symphony orchestra based in St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1880 by Joseph Otten as the St. Louis Choral Society, the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra is the second-oldest professional symphony or ...
(1971–1972). He was executive director of the Music Critics Association of North America (MCANA) from 1974 to 1990 and served as a contributing editor of ''
Stereo Review ''Sound & Vision'' was an American magazine, purchased by AVTech Media Ltd. (UK) in March 2018, covering home theater, audio, video and multimedia consumer products. Before 2000, it had been published for most of its history as ''Stereo Review' ...
'' (from 1973), as record critic for ''
The Washington Star ''The Washington Star'', previously known as the ''Washington Star-News'' and the ''Washington'' ''Evening Star'', was a daily afternoon newspaper published in Washington, D.C., between 1852 and 1981. The Sunday edition was known as the ''Sunday ...
'' (1972–1975) and ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'' (1976–1984), radio host for the concerts of the St. Louis and
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is an American symphony orchestra based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Baltimore SO has its principal residence at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, where it performs more than 130 concerts a year. In 2005, ...
, and program annotator for those orchestras as well as the Houston Symphony,
National Symphony Orchestra The National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) is an American symphony orchestra based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1930 by cellist Hans Kindler, its principal performing venue is the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The NSO regularly ...
and
Philadelphia Orchestra The Philadelphia Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra, based in Philadelphia. One of the " Big Five" American orchestras, the orchestra is based at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, where it performs its subscription concerts, n ...
. He received two
ASCAP The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadc ...
Deems Taylor Awards for his concert and record annotations, and a
Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...
for the latter and as consultant to the
music director A music director, musical director or director of music is a person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert ...
of the National Symphony Orchestra. As author of several articles and reviews for newspapers and journals, Freed wrote and interpreted many historical recordings for the
Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...
. He received the
American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadc ...
Award, the ASCAP Foundation Richard Rodgers Award, Deems Taylor Award for his concert and record notes. He was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Album Notes in 1986 and won in 1995. In his capacity as former executive director and unofficial historian of MCANA, he subsequently donated several important historical items to the organization. In addition to numerous documents that are invaluable in providing the early history of the MCANA, a series of reel-to-reel tapes of a public symposium titled "Music Criticism in America's Press" that was presented by the MCA (as it was then known) at the Kennedy Center in March 1987 are included.


Personal life

Freed was married to Louise Kono for 63 years until his death. Together, they had one child (Erica). He died on January 1, 2022, at his home in
Rockville, Maryland Rockville is a city in and the county seat of Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, and is part of the Washington metropolitan area. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census tabulated Rockville's population at 67,117, making it the fourth ...
. He was 93, and suffered a heart attack prior to his death.


Works

* In May 1963: The National Music Council has formed a Recording Service Committee. His article in '' The Gramophone'', briefly, the committee reviews * On February 25, 1967: Review of some recent Strauss recordings, "Vintage Strauss", '' Saturday Review'' * In 1982: Masterworks, 11–13. Edition, International Alban Berg Society,
University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...
* On July 29, 1984, he wrote "
Igor Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ( – 6 April 1971) was a Russian composer and conductor with French citizenship (from 1934) and American citizenship (from 1945). He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century c ...
and Friends" in ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
''. * On June 24, 1990, he wrote an article '' Kubelik in Prague — and in the Catalogue''.


References


Citations


General sources

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External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Freed, Richard 1928 births 2022 deaths 20th-century American non-fiction writers Writers from Chicago American music critics American arts administrators Journalists from Illinois 20th-century American male writers American male non-fiction writers University of Chicago alumni People from Rockville, Maryland