| Harold C. Schonberg |
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| CATEGORIES ABOUT HAROLD C. SCHONBERG | |
| american music critics | |
| schonberg, harold c. | |
| people from new york city | |
| new york city culture | |
| new york times people | |
| 1915 births | |
| 2003 deaths | |
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Born in New York City, Schonberg grew up there, graduated from Brooklyn College in 1937, and did graduate studies at New York University . In 1939 he became a record critic for ''American Music Lover magazine'' (later renamed the '' American Record Guide ''). Schonberg joined ''The New York Times'' in 1950. He rose to the post of senior music critic of the Times a decade later. In this capacity he published daily reviews and longer features on Opera s and Classical Music on Sundays. He also worked effectively behind the scenes to increase music coverage in the Times and develop its first-rate music staff. Upon his retirement as senior music critic in 1980 he became cultural correspondent for the Times. Schonberg was an extremely influential music writer. Aside from his superb contributions to music journalism, he published 13 books, most of them on music, including ''The Great Pianists: From Mozart to the Present'' (1963) -- pianists were a speciality of Schonberg -- and ''The Lives of the Great Composers'' (1970; revised 1981, 1997) which traced the lives of major composers from Monteverdi through to modern times. A devoted and skilled Chess player, he covered the championship match between Boris Spassky and Bobby Fischer in Reykjavík , Iceland in 1972. Schonberg's sole book not on music was on the ''Grandmasters of Chess''. He also reviewed mysteries and thrillers for The New York Times under the pseudonym Newgate Callendar. Harold Schonberg wrote on music with brilliance, insight, and a uniquely personal perspective. He was seldom neutral. Whether a reader agreed or disagreed with what he wrote, the reader usually found it interesting and stimulating. Schonberg died in New York City on 26 July , 2003 , at the age of 87. In his obituary notice in The New York Times the next day, Allan Kozinn wrote that "as a music critic Harold Schonberg set the standard for critical evaluation and journalistic thoroughness". |
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