David Hurwitz

Dave Hurwitz (b. 29 August 1961, Wilmington, Delaware) is an American classical music critic, writer, liner notes author, and former orchestral percussionist based in Brooklyn, New York. He is the co-founder and executive editor of ClassicsToday.com and has a prolific YouTube channel since November 2019, amassing over 15 million views on almost 3,000 videos. Hurwitz wrote album notes for Decca, RCA Victor/BMG Classics, Naxos, Denon, and other notable labels, published over 15 books and numerous articles, and served as the Cannes Classical Awards chairman between 1994 and 2010. Hurwitz grew up in Connecticut and studied at Johns Hopkins University and Stanford University, earning graduate degrees in Modern European History. David also studied piano, clarinet, viola, and percussion. He worked as a percussionist with several orchestras and ensembles, appearing on Denon, Ondine, and other record labels. In 1994, Dave Hurwitz founded the Cannes Classical Awards (CCA) at MIDEM, a French annual music industry expo in Cannes, with a multinational jury of professional critics. The CCA continued until 2010, replaced by the MIDEM Classical Awards (now the "International Classical Music Awards"). In November 1999, David co-founded ClassicsToday.com, an online publication dedicated to daily reviews of classical CDs. He continues to work as the website's Executive Editor and regular contributor. Throughout his career, Hurwitz published reviews and editorials in many notable magazines, including CD Review, High Fidelity Magazine (2), Musical America, Stereo Review, and Opus. Dave authored over 15 books, primarily in the "Unlocking The Masters" series by Amadeus Press, including guides on Mahler, Mozart, Dvořák, Haydn, Shostakovich, Sibelius, Bernstein, Strauss, Händel, and C.P.E. Bach.