Music Critics

One of the most prominent intellectuals of the 20th century, Theodor Adorno was a pioneer of the Frankfurt School of Critical Theory and despised the culture industry. Born to a singer mother, the German sociologist grew up amid music and could even play Beethoven on the piano by 12.

E. T. A. Hoffmann was a German author, jurist, artist, composer, and music critic. His stories served as an inspiration and laid the foundation for The Tales of Hoffmann by Jacques Offenbach. The Nutcracker by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky is also based on Hoffmann's The Nutcracker and the Mouse King. Hoffmann is among the most influential authors of the Romantic Movement.

Erin McNaught is an Australian actress, model, television personality, and presenter. McNaught achieved both fame and notoriety when she represented Australia in the 2006 Miss Universe competition where she was one of the most controversial participants. Over the years, Erin McNaught has also taken part in charity campaigns, such as UK's Fashion Targets Breast Cancer.

Guido of Arezzo was an Italian pedagogue and music theorist of High medieval music. He is often credited with inventing the modern staff notation, which later gave rise to Western musical notation. Among his treatises, Micrologus, was one of the most widely circulated medieval treatise on music.

Adolphe Adam was a French music critic, teacher, and composer. Best remembered for his ballets, Le corsaire and Giselle, Adam was a prolific composer for the theatre. Adolphe Adam is credited with developing the French form of opera along with his teacher Adrien Boieldieu and his older contemporary Daniel Auber.

Best known for his masterpiece The Sorcerer's Apprentice, French composer Paul Dukas was admired by both conservative and progressive French musicians. Born to a pianist mother, Dukas had begun composing while recovering from an ailment at age 14. Shortly before his death, he destroyed most of his manuscripts.

Cesar Cui was a Russian composer best remembered for his association with a group called The Five, which worked to create a national style of classical music. Also a well-known music critic of his time, Cui worked hard to promote the music of other Russian composers, especially the works of his co-members from The Five.

A Cambridge alumnus, Stanley Sadie later not only became a popular music journalist, writing for publications such as The Time and editing The Musical Times but also edited the Grove Dictionary of music. He also headed the Royal Musical Association as its president and wrote predominantly on Mozart and Handel.

Augusto de Campos is a Brazilian writer, translator, visual artist, and music critic. He is best known for founding the Concrete poetry movement as well as a literary magazine called Noigandres along with his brother Haroldo de Campos. Augusto de Campos' contributions were honored with the prestigious Order of Cultural Merit in 2015.

Maurycy Mochnacki was a Polish pianist, publicist, journalist, historian, independence activist, and literary, theatre and music critic. A fierce critic, Mochnacki encouraged writers to develop a Polish version of Romanticism. Maurycy Mochnacki also played a major role in the 1830's November Uprising, participating in many battles at Stoczek, Wawer, Grochów, and Ostrołęka.