Ian MacCormick (known by the pseudonym Ian MacDonald; 3 October 1948 – 20 August 2003) was an English music critic, journalist and author, best known for both Revolution in the Head, his critical history of the Beatles which borrowed techniques from art historians, and The New Shostakovich, a study of Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich.

MacDonald began a songwriting collaboration as a lyricist with the band Quiet Sun, which included his brother Bill MacCormick and future Roxy Music guitarist Phil Manzanera.

His The New Shostakovich (1990) attempted to put the works of the Russian composer in their political and social context, leaning heavily on Solomon Volkov's Testimony.

In 2006 a heavily revised and updated version undertaken by the British pianist Raymond Clarke, also incorporating some of MacDonald's later writings, addressed some of these issues.

He had been working on a book entitled Birds, Beasts & Fishes: A Guide to Animal Lore and Symbolism, and another about David Bowie.