Peter Hagmann

Peter Hagmann was a distinguished music critic who spent over three decades shaping the music coverage of the Neue Zürcher Zeitung. Known for his uncompromising and analytical approach, Hagmann prioritized substantive arguments over personal taste or popular trends in his critiques. Even after his retirement in 2015, he remained a significant voice in German-speaking music criticism through his blog 'Mittwochs um zwölf.' A trained organist and musicologist, he was deeply committed to the principles of historically informed performance practice, often measuring performances against the original scores. His passing on June 5 at the age of 75 marks the loss of a critical figure in the world of classical music journalism.