The Washington PostDemocracy Dies in Darkness

Richard Freed, classical music critic, dies at 93

By
January 5, 2022 at 11:00 p.m. EST
Richard Freed, seen in 2019, was just as likely to address the complicated history of jazz in the Soviet Union as he was to write about the classical “hits.” (John W. Lambert)
4 min

Richard Freed, a classical music critic and administrator renowned for the program notes he wrote for the National Symphony Orchestra, the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and the leading ensembles of Baltimore, Houston and Philadelphia, died Jan. 1 at his home in Rockville, Md. He was 93.

The cause was a heart attack, said his daughter, Erica Freed.