Richard Dyer
American journalist and music critic Richard M Dyer was born in Mineral Wells, Texas, on 29 December 1941 and grew up in Enid, Oklahoma and then Hiram, Ohio. As a youth he played the piano and was an opera enthusiast. He studied English and French at Hiram College, but also learned piano with Beatrice Erdely at the Cleveland Institute of Music and also with Jacqueline Eymar at the Institute of European Studies in Paris.
He received USA-wide attention for his 29 April 1973 article We Love You Renata But ... about soprano Renata Tebaldi's 'artistic decline' , published in The New York Times, and this began his career as a music journalist, joining The Boston Globe later that year in what he called an 'unexpected sidestep into journalism'. He went on to become chief music critic at The Boston Globe and to write for many other publications, and he also contributed to music encyclopedias, wrote liner and programme notes, and acted as a jury member for various piano competitions.
Richard Dyer died in Boston, Massachusetts on 20 September 2024, aged eighty-two.
A selection of articles about Richard Dyer
Classical music news - September 2024 Obituaries - Our summary of those the classical music world has lost this month
Profile. Rich Musical Experiences - American conductor Joel Revzen talks to Maria Nockin