George Hogarth was a Scottish newspaper editor, music critic, and musicologist. He authored several books on opera

Opera

Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...

 and Victorian musical life in addition to contributing articles to various publications.

Born in Carfraemill, Scottish Borders

Scottish Borders

The Scottish Borders is one of 32 local government council areas of Scotland. It is bordered by Dumfries and Galloway in the west, South Lanarkshire and West Lothian in the north west, City of Edinburgh, East Lothian, Midlothian to the north; and the non-metropolitan counties of Northumberland...

, Hogarth studied law at the University of Edinburgh

University of Edinburgh

The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...

. He practiced law during the first two decades of the 19th century; counting among his clients Sir Walter Scott. He first worked as a music critic for The Harmonicon

The Harmonicon

The Harmonicon was an influential monthly journal of music published in London from 1823 to 1833. It was edited at one period by William Scrope Ayrton Issues contained articles on diverse topics, including reviews of musical compositions, reviews of concert and opera performances, news of...

 during the 1820s and early 1830s. From 1846–1866 he worked as a music critic for The Daily News, a paper which was founded by the novelist Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens

Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...

. He had previously met Dickens in 1834 while they were both working for the Morning Chronicle

Morning Chronicle

The Morning Chronicle was a newspaper founded in 1769 in London, England, and published under various owners until 1862. It was most notable for having been the first employer of Charles Dickens, and for publishing the articles by Henry Mayhew which were collected and published in book format in...

. In 1836 Dickens married Hogarth's eldest daughter Catherine

Catherine Dickens

Catherine 'Kate' Thomson Dickens was the wife of English novelist Charles Dickens, with whom he fathered 10 children.-Marriage:...

. One of his younger daughters, Georgina

Georgina Hogarth

Georgina Hogarth was the sister-in-law, housekeeper and adviser of English novelist Charles Dickens and the editor of two volumes of his collected letters after his death.-Biography:...

, was Dickens' housekeeper, adviser, and, after Dickens' death, the editor of The Letters Of Charles Dickens From 1833 To 1870. From 1850–1864 Hogarth served as the Royal Philharmonic Society

Royal Philharmonic Society

The Royal Philharmonic Society is a British music society, formed in 1813. It was originally formed in London to promote performances of instrumental music there. Many distinguished composers and performers have taken part in its concerts...

's Secretary. During the last years of his life he worked as an editor for the Evening Chronicle. He died in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 in 1870 at the age of 86. He is buried in the Kensal Green Cemetery

Kensal Green Cemetery

Kensal Green Cemetery is a cemetery in Kensal Green, in the west of London, England. It was immortalised in the lines of G. K. Chesterton's poem The Rolling English Road from his book The Flying Inn: "For there is good news yet to hear and fine things to be seen; Before we go to Paradise by way of...

.

Works

• Lives of celebrated musicians : Beethoven (1800, R. Cocks & Co., London)
• Musical history, biography, and criticism: being a general survey of music, from the earliest period to the present time (1835, J.W. Parker, London)
• Memoirs of the musical drama, Vol. 1 (1838, R. Bentley, London)
• Memoirs of the musical drama, Vol. 2 (1838, R. Bentley, London)
• Musical history, biography, and criticism, Vol. 1 (1838, Da Capo Press, New York)
• Musical history, biography, and criticism, Vol. 2 (1838, Da Capo Press, New York)
• Memoirs of the opera in Italy, France, Germany, and England, Vol. 1 (1851, R. Bentley, London)
• Memoirs of the opera in Italy, France, Germany, and England, Vol. 2 (1851, R. Bentley, London)

Sources

• John Warrack, "Hogarth, George (1783–1870)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, 2004