Richard (Donald) Freed, an American critic and music administrator, studied at the University of Chicago (Bachelor of Philosophy 1947). After working as an assistant to Irving Kolodin at the Saturday Review (1962–1963) and as a staff critic for the New York Times (1965–1966), he was assistant to the director of the Eastman School (1966–1970) and director of public relations for the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra (1971–1972). He was executive director of the Music Critics Association from 1974 to 1990 and served as a contributing editor of Stereo Review (from 1973), as record critic for the Washington Star (1972–1975) and the Washington Post (1976–1984) and as consultant to the music director of the National Symphony Orchestra (from 1981). The author of numerous articles and reviews for newspapers and journals, Freed has also developed and annotated a series of historical recordings for the Smithsonian Institution. He has received The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) Deems Taylor and Grammy awards for his concert and record notes.