author
Paul Scudo
1806–1864
An Italian-born French music critic and writer, he spent much of his career arguing passionately about opera, composers, and the direction of 19th-century music. His books and journalism capture a lively, often combative musical world.
2 Audiobooks
Les partis politiques en Province
by Paul Scudo
Le chevalier Sarti
by Paul Scudo
About the author
Born in Venice in 1806 and later active in France, Paul Scudo was a music critic, musicographer, and composer of Italian origin. Library and encyclopedia records identify him as a French writer on music, and biographical sources say he spent part of his youth in Germany before studying in Paris at Alexandre-Étienne Choron’s music school.
Before becoming known for criticism, he appears to have tried several musical paths: sources describe him as a singer, a clarinetist, and later a teacher. From around 1840, he wrote for major Parisian periodicals including Revue des deux mondes, Revue de Paris, Le Siècle, and other music journals, building a reputation as an influential and sometimes severe critic.
He also published books such as Critique et littérature musicale, L'Art ancien et l'Art moderne, and L'Année musicale, and wrote romances and a musical novel, Le Chevalier Sarti. He died at Blois in 1864. Today, he is remembered less as a creative artist than as a sharp, opinionated voice in the musical debates of his time.