Edward Lockspeiser (21 May 1905 – 3 Feb 1973) was an English musicologist, composer, art critic and radio broadcaster on music who specialized in the works and life of French composer Claude Debussy and was considered one of the few British authorities on French classical music.
Lockspeiser studied at the Paris Conservatory between 1922 and 1926 with Alexandre Tansman and Nadia Boulanger and at the Royal College of Music in London from 1929 to 1930 with Charles Herbert Kitson and Malcolm Sargent.
[1] According to Mark DeVoto of The Boston Musical Intelligencer, this tome "remains a landmark work of biography enriched by a wide-ranging analysis of Debussy’s cultural background and literary and artistic influences.
[3] Lockspeiser became London music critic for the Yorkshire Post in 1936; before that he concentrated on composition and conducting, founding the Toynbee Hall Orchestra in 1934.
[1] Among the works the BBC commissioned during his tenure was the Sinfonietta from French composer Francis Poulenc.