• The Music Critic Known as Corno di Bassetto

    Love ’em or hate ’em, music critics have been around for most of music history. However, not all music critics use a pseudonym inspired by a member of the clarinet family! Irish music critic and multi-hyphenate George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) was a music critic in London for several years, where he used the pen name Corno di Bassetto. Bernard Shaw (his preferred name when he wasn’t using pen names) wrote for the Hornet and Star in London, where he attended musical performances and shared his opinions as Corno di Bassetto. According to this article, “…readers unversed in the language [of music] immediately assumed that the Star had acquired a sophisticated…