Greg Sandow (born June 3, 1943) is an American music critic and composer.

Education

Sandow is a graduate of

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

, with a bachelor's degree in government. He is also a graduate of

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

, with a master's degree in composition.Sandow, Greg at The Juilliard School
/ref>

Biography

For many years, Sandow was best known as a critic, both of classical music and pop. As a critic, Sandow wrote for ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, th ...

'' in the 1980s. His column was on new classical music, though he also wrote about the mainstream repertory, typically challenging traditional assumptions about its function and its meaning. In recent years his writing has appeared in the '' New York Times Book Review'', '' Opera News'', and the ''

Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'', where for a long time he was a regular contributor. In pop music, he became chief pop critic of the '' Los Angeles Herald-Examiner'' in 1988, and in 1990 joined the staff of ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cu ...

'', which had just begun publication, and where he served first as music critic and then as senior music editor. During his years as a critic, Sandow abandoned composition, but later resumed it. His works include four operas, one based on ''Frankenstein'', music from which he incorporated into an orchestra piece, ''A Frankenstein Overture,'' which has been performed by the Pittsburgh Symphony and the South Dakota Symphony. Others who have performed his work include the Fine Arts Quartet, the St. Luke's Chamber Ensemble, and the pianist Jenny Lin. Sandow has made public appearances throughout the United States and also abroad, and has also done consulting work and other special projects with classical music institutions, including the

Cleveland Orchestra The Cleveland Orchestra, based in Cleveland, is one of the five American orchestras informally referred to as the " Big Five". Founded in 1918 by the pianist and impresario Adella Prentiss Hughes, the orchestra plays most of its concerts at Se ...

, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and the

New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic, officially the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc., globally known as New York Philharmonic Orchestra (NYPO) or New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, is a symphony orchestra based in New York City. It is ...

. Since 1997 he has taught at the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most elit ...

as a member of the Graduate Studies Faculty, and from 2006 to 2009 also taught at the

Eastman School of Music The Eastman School of Music is the music school of the University of Rochester, a private research university in Rochester, New York. It was established in 1921 by industrialist and philanthropist George Eastman. It offers Bachelor of Music ...

, where he gave the commencement address in 2008. He blogs about the future of classical music on the ArtsJournal.com website. Sandow has also extensively written and researched

unidentified flying object An unidentified flying object (UFO), more recently renamed by US officials as a UAP (unidentified aerial phenomenon), is any perceived aerial phenomenon that cannot be immediately identified or explained. On investigation, most UFOs are ide ...

s, notably for the ''International UFO Reporter'', a quarterly publication of the

Center for UFO Studies The Center for UFO Studies (CUFOS) is a privately funded UFO research group. The group was founded in 1973 by J. Allen Hynek, who at the time was chair of the Department of Astronomy at Northwestern University in Illinois.Franch John, ''The Secret ...

. Sandow is married to

Anne Midgette Anne Midgette (born June 22, 1965) is an American music critic who was the first woman to write classical music criticism regularly for ''The New York Times''. She was the chief classical music critic of ''The Washington Post'' from 2008 to 20 ...

, herself a former classical music reviewer for ''

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 d ...

'' and formerly chief classical music critic for ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

''. Sandow dedicated his "Quartet for Anne" to his wife. They live in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, and

Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined with Leamington Spa and Whi ...

, New York.About Me – GREG SANDOW
/ref> They have one child, Rafael Aron Sandow, born October 15, 2011.

References

External links

Greg Sandow blog on Arts Journal website

"The Future of Classical Music?" "Book-in-progress" blog by Greg Sandow
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sandow, Greg 1943 births Living people Harvard University alumni Yale School of Music alumni Eastman School of Music faculty American male composers 21st-century American composers American music critics American UFO writers The Village Voice people 21st-century American male musicians