Michael, who helped frame the listening experience of countless music lovers, died July 26, 2009, from complications related to cancer.  

He served as The Boston Globe’s classical music critic from 1964 to 1976 and then was program annotator for the Boston Symphony Orchestra (1976 to 1979), the San Francisco Symphony (1979 to 1989), and the New York Philharmonic.  

Richard Dyer, who succeeded Michael as The Globe’s classical music critic, wrote of Michael, “He was beyond question the most distinguished music critic of his generation.”

Michael was born in Breslau, Germany. At age 10, he escaped the Nazi regime on a Kindertransport, a rescue operation for children, and lived in England with an adoptive family. He later joined his mother and brother in the United States and earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music at Princeton. In the 1950s, he directed the music history department at the Manhattan School of Music before joining The Globe.

Michael’s notes were collected into three volumes for Oxford University Press. He also co-authored a book titled For the Love of Music.

The class extends condolences to Michael’s wife, violinist Jorja Fleezanis, former concertmaster of the Minnesota Orchestra; their two sons, Sebastian and Adam; and three grandchildren.

Undergraduate Class of 1949
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Graduate Class of 1951