Hyman Howard Taubman (July 4, 1907 – January 8, 1996) was an American music critic, theater critic, and author.

Biography

Born in Manhattan, Taubman attended

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and then won a four-year scholarship to

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to ...

, from which he graduated, as a

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member, in 1929.Severo, Richard
"Howard Taubman, 88, a Times Music Critic"
''

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 ...

'', January 9, 1996. Accessed October 18, 2009. He then returned to New York and began working for ''

''. He joined the Music Department there in 1930. In 1935, he was named Music Editor. For about a year, from 1944 to 1945, Taubman served in the Army and worked in Italy as a writer for '' Stars and Stripes''. In 1955, he became the chief music critic at the ''Times'', replacing Olin Downes upon Downes’ death. Also in the 1950s, Taubman acted as the

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for opera singer Marian Anderson's autobiography ''My Lord, What a Morning.'' In 1960, he took the post of Chief Drama Critic for the ''Times'' after

Brooks Atkinson Justin Brooks Atkinson (November 28, 1894 – January 14, 1984) was an American theatre critic. He worked for ''The New York Times'' from 1922 to 1960. In his obituary, the ''Times'' called him "the theater's most influential reviewer of his ...

retired from that position. Taubman remained in that role until 1965. In 1961, Taubman, along with six other theater critics, was the victim of a famous hoax when Broadway producer David Merrick placed a newspaper ad for his show '' Subways Are for Sleeping''. The ad quoted Howard Taubman, Walter Kerr, and other prominent New York critics singing praises for Merrick's commercially faltering musical. The individuals quoted, however, were not the renowned theater critics themselves, but like-named New Yorkers hired by Merrick to provide positive quotes.Povonline.com
/ref> (The trick kept the show going.) From 1966 until he retired in 1972, Taubman was a critic-at-large for the ''Times'' writing about cultural events from around the globe. After retiring from the Times, Taubman worked as a consultant to

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for the PBS series '' Great Performances''. Taubman was the author of several books, primarily related to music. He was the recipient of honorary degrees from the

Philadelphia Academy of Music The Academy of Music, also known as American Academy of Music, is a concert hall and opera house located at 240 S. Broad Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Its location is between Locust and Manning Streets in the Avenue of the Arts area o ...

, Oberlin College and

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptists, Baptist minister Russell Conwell an ...

. Taubman was twice married and the father of two sons,

William William is a masculine given name of Norman French origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conq ...

and Philip. Taubman died in

Sarasota, Florida Sarasota () is a city in Sarasota County on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is renowned for its cultural and environmental amenities, beaches, resorts, and the Sarasota School of Architecture. The city is located in the sou ...

at the age of 88.

Works

* ''The Pleasure of Their Company'' (Amadeus Press, 1994) * ''The Making of the American Theatre'' (Coward McCann, 1965) * ''How to Bring up your Child to Enjoy Music'' (1958) * ''How to Build a Record Library'' (1953) * ''The Maestro: The Life of

Arturo Toscanini Arturo Toscanini (; ; March 25, 1867January 16, 1957) was an Italian conductor. He was one of the most acclaimed and influential musicians of the late 19th and early 20th century, renowned for his intensity, his perfectionism, his ear for orche ...

'' (Simon and Schuster, 1951) * ''Music on My Beat: An Intimate Volume of Shop Talk'' (1943) * ''Music as a Profession'' (C. Scribner's Sons, 1939) * ''Opera: Front and Back'' (C. Scribner's Sons, 1938)

Quotes

*"It is the destiny of the theater nearly everywhere and in every period to struggle even when it is flourishing." ~Howard Taubman, 1964

References

Sources

"Howard Taubman, 88, a Times Music Critic"
''The New York Times'', January 9, 1996 *Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians, Centennial Edition. Nicolas Slonimsky, Editor. Schirmer, 2001

Biography

Works

Quotes

References

Sources

Further reading