Richard Morrison (music critic)
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Richard Duncan Morrison (born 24 July 1954) is an English
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 ...
who specializes in
classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...
. As chief music critic of ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'' since 1992, he "has long been admired for his penetrating cultural
column A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member. ...
". He also writes for the monthly publication ''
BBC Music Magazine ''BBC Music Magazine'' is a British monthly magazine that focuses primarily on classical music. History The first issue appeared in September 1992. BBC Worldwide, the commercial subsidiary of the BBC was the original owner and publisher toget ...
'' and has previously written for ''
Classical Music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...
'', '' The Listener'' and (as deputy editor) the ''
Early Music Early music generally comprises Medieval music (500–1400) and Renaissance music (1400–1600), but can also include Baroque music (1600–1750). Originating in Europe, early music is a broad musical era for the beginning of Western classical m ...
'' journal. In 2004, he published a history of the
London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...
entitled ''Orchestra: The LSO: A Century of Triumph and Turbulence'';
Charlotte Higgins Charlotte Higgins, (born 6 September 1972) is a British writer and journalist. Early life and education Higgins was born in Stoke-on-Trent, the daughter of a doctor and a nurse, and received her secondary education at a local independent scho ...
of ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' described it as "a pungent, immensely readable first book."


Life and career

Richard Duncan Morrison was born in London, England, on 24 July 1954. His first
classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...
experience was attending a 1960
London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...
(LSO) concert at the age of five. He was educated at
University College School ("Slowly but surely") , established = , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent day school , religion = , president = , head_label = Headmaster , head = Mark Beard , r_head_label = , r_hea ...
in Hampstead, and after studying music at
Magdalene College, Cambridge Magdalene College ( ) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1428 as a Benedictine hostel, in time coming to be known as Buckingham College, before being refounded in 1542 as the College of St Mary ...
worked variously as a pianist,
organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ (music), organ. An organist may play organ repertoire, solo organ works, play with an musical ensemble, ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumentalist, instrumental ...
, and
trombonist The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate ...
. Despite two cycling injuries, he continues to perform music, particularly in Northern London. He is the director of music for
St Mary's Church, Hendon St Mary's Church is the oldest (and Church of England) parish church in Hendon in the London Borough of Barnet. The mother church of Christ Church, Brent Street, the two form one parish in the Diocese of London. History The church may date to A ...
, a church in the London suburbs. Following his period at Cambridge, Morrison soon embarked in the realm of
music criticism ''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 ...
, first writing for the ''
Classical Music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...
'' magazine in 1978. In a few years, he gained two other posts, serving as a music credit for '' The Listener'' in 1982 and deputy editor of the ''
Early Music Early music generally comprises Medieval music (500–1400) and Renaissance music (1400–1600), but can also include Baroque music (1600–1750). Originating in Europe, early music is a broad musical era for the beginning of Western classical m ...
'' journal in 1983. He joined ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'' as a music critic in 1984, and has been the paper's chief music critic since 1992, succeeding music critic Paul Griffiths. Morrison also edited the arts pages for ''The Times'' between 1989 and 1999. Morrison "has long been admired for his penetrating cultural columns"; at both ''The Times'' (weekly) and in the ''
BBC Music Magazine ''BBC Music Magazine'' is a British monthly magazine that focuses primarily on classical music. History The first issue appeared in September 1992. BBC Worldwide, the commercial subsidiary of the BBC was the original owner and publisher toget ...
'' (monthly since 2004), he writes a
column A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member. ...
. His column at ''The Times'' is "noted for its humour and passion", while he was awarded "Columnist of the Year" in the 2012
Professional Publishers Association The Professional Publishers Association (PPA), formerly known as the Periodical Publishers Association until 2011, is the main publishing industry body which promotes companies involved in the production of media, supporting the creative economy at ...
(PPA) for his column in the ''BBC Music Magazine''. Morrison published a history of the LSO to coincide with the orchestra's centenary in 2004. The book was entitled ''Orchestra: The LSO: A Century of Triumph and Turbulence'' and published by
Faber and Faber Faber and Faber Limited, usually abbreviated to Faber, is an independent publishing house in London. Published authors and poets include T. S. Eliot (an early Faber editor and director), W. H. Auden, Margaret Storey, William Golding, Samuel B ...
. In her review of the book, the journalist
Charlotte Higgins Charlotte Higgins, (born 6 September 1972) is a British writer and journalist. Early life and education Higgins was born in Stoke-on-Trent, the daughter of a doctor and a nurse, and received her secondary education at a local independent scho ...
, described its narrative as "somewhat
teleological Teleology (from and )Partridge, Eric. 1977''Origins: A Short Etymological Dictionary of Modern English'' London: Routledge, p. 4187. or finalityDubray, Charles. 2020 912Teleology" In ''The Catholic Encyclopedia'' 14. New York: Robert Appleton ...
", but concluded that "Morrison ..has delivered a pungent, immensely readable first book." In 2014 he was one of a number of British critics accused of sexism in their reviews of the
mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano or mezzo (; ; meaning "half soprano") is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A below middle C ...
Tara Erraught Tara Erraught (born 1986, Dublin, Ireland) is an Irish mezzo-soprano, a graduate of the Royal Irish Academy of Music (RIAM). Erraught is known for her work with Bavarian State Opera, for which she has been given a ' award. She stepped in on fiv ...
, who was singing the title role in a new production of Strauss's ''
Der Rosenkavalier (''The Knight of the Rose'' or ''The Rose-Bearer''), Op. 59, is a comic opera in three acts by Richard Strauss to an original German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. It is loosely adapted from the novel ''Les amours du chevalier de Faublas'' ...
''. Writing in the August 2020 edition of ''BBC Music Magazine'', Morrison called for the dropping of three nationalistic songs, "
Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
", "
Rule, Britannia! "Rule, Britannia!" is a British patriotic song, originating from the 1740 poem "Rule, Britannia" by James Thomson and set to music by Thomas Arne in the same year. It is most strongly associated with the Royal Navy, but is also used by the ...
" and "
Land of Hope and Glory "Land of Hope and Glory" is a British patriotic song, with music by Edward Elgar written in 1901 and lyrics by A. C. Benson later added in 1902. Composition The music to which the words of the refrain 'Land of Hope and Glory, &c' below ar ...
", from the
Last Night of the Proms The BBC Proms or Proms, formally named the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts Presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert H ...
, the last two being in his opinion "bordering on incendiary" in the context of the
Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter (abbreviated BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement that seeks to highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people. Its primary concerns are incidents of police bruta ...
movement.


Selected bibliography

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Articles

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References


External links

*
Articles by Richard Morrison
in ''BBC Music Magazine'' * {{DEFAULTSORT:Morrison, Richard English music critics English organists British male organists The Times people Living people Alumni of Magdalene College, Cambridge 21st-century organists 21st-century British male musicians Classical music critics 1954 births