Peter J. Pirie (1916 – 1997) was an English musicologist and critic prominent in music journalism of the mid-twentieth century.
Having left school with no formal qualifications, Pirie was self-taught in music until he won a composition scholarship to the Guildhall School of Music, where he studied piano, composition and conducting.
[clarification needed] After the war, Pirie and his family moved to Whitstable, Kent, where he helped to run a music and book shop, "Pirie and Cavender", which was in business until 2007.
[citation needed] His wife Mildred (1911–1996) was a member of the Society of Friends (Quakers) and active as a peace campaigner.
He was a supporter of 20th-century English music, especially that of Arnold Bax and Frank Bridge.