Allan Kozinn was a music critic and culture reporter for the New York Times from 1977 to 2014, where he wrote principally about classical music, but was also, in effect, the Times’ Beatles desk. In that capacity, he interviewed Paul McCartney several times, and saw him perform in a great variety of configurations and venues – from singing with a hand mic at the Lonestar Roadhouse, playing rock oldies at the Cavern, in Liverpool, and performing in small halls like the Ed Sullivan Theater and the Highline Ballroom, to full-scale concerts at Madison Square Garden and Yankee Stadium. He currently contributes regularly to the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post and other publications, and has written for virtually every major music publication in the English-speaking world, from Gramophone, Opera News and Opus to Rolling Stone, Modern Music & Recording and Fi. He has taught courses at the Juilliard School and New York University (including a course on the Beatles at the latter), and has written seven books, among them The Beatles – From The Cavern To The Rooftop (1995), Got That Something! How The Beatles’ ‘I Want To Hold Your Hand’ Changed Everything (2013), The New York Times Essential Guide – Classical Music (2004) and Spoleto 40 (2016).