Bernard Holland (born 1933) is an American music critic. He served on the staff of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' from 1981 until 2008 and held the post of chief music critic from 1995, contributing 4,575 articles to the newspaper. He then became the National Music Critic, reviewing concerts, festivals and hall openings worldwide. Holland was born in

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...

, and studied literature and philosophy as an undergraduate at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

. After studies in piano and composition at the

Vienna Academy of Music en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

and the

Paris Conservatory The Conservatoire de Paris (), also known as the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue ...

he worked as a piano teacher. Before joining the staff of ''The New York Times'', he was a freelance critic and music writer for the ''

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette The ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', also known simply as the PG, is the largest newspaper serving metropolitan Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Descended from the ''Pittsburgh Gazette'', established in 1786 as the first newspaper published west of the All ...

'' from 1979 to 1980.Druckenbrod, Andrew
"Holland to retire"
''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', 15 May 2008. Accessed 9 February 2010. In 2016, Holland's book, ''Something I Heard'', was published. The book is a collection of essays and reviews from his almost 30-year career.

References

1933 births Living people American music critics Critics employed by The New York Times Conservatoire de Paris alumni University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna alumni University of Virginia alumni Carnegie Mellon University faculty American male journalists 20th-century American journalists 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American journalists 21st-century American male writers Writers from Norfolk, Virginia Journalists from Virginia {{US-music-journalist-stub