Richard Donald Freed (December 27, 1928 – January 1, 2022) was an American music critic, program annotator and administrator.

He went on to be assistant director to Irving Kolodin from 1962 to 1963, and as a staff critic for The New York Times and The Audio Beat two years later.

[6] As author of several articles and reviews for newspapers and journals, Freed wrote and interpreted many historical recordings for the Smithsonian Institution.

[7] In his capacity as former executive director and unofficial historian of MCANA, he subsequently donated several important historical items to the organization.

[8] In addition to numerous documents that are invaluable in providing the early history of the MCANA, a series of reel-to-reel tapes of a public symposium titled "Music Criticism in America's Press" that was presented by the MCA (as it was then known) at the Kennedy Center in March 1987 are included.