Richard Taruskin | |
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Born | Richard Filler Taruskin April 2, 1945 New York City, U.S. |
Died | July 1, 2022 Oakland, California, U.S. | (aged 77)
Spouse |
Cathy Roebuck (m. 1984) |
Children | 2 |
Awards | |
Academic background | |
Education | Columbia University (B.A., M.A., PhD) |
Academic work | |
Discipline | Russian music |
Institutions |
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Notable works | Oxford History of Western Music |
Richard Filler Taruskin (April 2, 1945 – July 1, 2022) was an American musicologist and music critic who was among the leading and most prominent music historians of his generation.[1] The breadth of his scrutiny into source material as well as musical analysis that combines sociological, cultural, and political perspectives has incited much discussion, debate and controversy.[2][3] He regularly wrote music criticism for newspapers including The New York Times. He researched a wide variety of areas, but a central topic was Russian music from the 18th century to the present day.[4] Other subjects he engaged with include the theory of performance, 15th-century music, 20th-century classical music, nationalism in music, the theory of modernism, and analysis.[4] He is best known for his monumental survey of Western classical music, the six-volume Oxford History of Western Music.[2][5] His awards include the first Noah Greenberg Award from the American Musicological Society in 1978 and the Kyoto Prize in Arts and Philosophy in 2017.