William Zakariasen (August 19, 1930 – September 4, 2004) was an American operatic tenor and

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 mus ...

Biography

Born in Blue Earth, Minnesota, Zakariasen began his career as a classical tenor in the late 1950s, appearing in operas and in concerts. He sometimes performed under the name William Saxon. In the early 1970s he moved away from performance into the field of journalism, establishing himself as a respected Manhattan-based music critic. In 1976 he became the chief classical-music critic of the ''

New York Daily News The New York ''Daily News'', officially titled the ''Daily News'', is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, NJ. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in ta ...

'' where he worked for the next seventeen years. After leaving the ''New York Daily News'' in 1993 he became the classical-music/opera critic for ''The Westsider''/''Chelsea Clinton News'' in 1994. He remained in that position until his death in 2004 in New York City. Zakariasen was also a repeat contributor of articles to ''

Opera News ''Opera News'' is an American classical music magazine. It has been published since 1936 by the Metropolitan Opera Guild, a non-profit organization located at Lincoln Center which was founded to engender the appreciation of opera and also support ...

'' magazine and to ''

New York Concert Review New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

''.

References

1930 births 2004 deaths American male journalists American music critics American operatic tenors 20th-century American male opera singers People from Blue Earth, Minnesota Singers from Minnesota Classical musicians from Minnesota {{US-journalist-1930s-stub