Martin Julian Goldsmith (born August 18, 1952) is an American radio personality and an author, best known as a classical music host on National Public Radio and Sirius XM, and for a book about his parents' experiences as Jewish musicians in Nazi Germany.
Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Goldsmith is the son of Gunther Goldschmidt, a flutist from Oldenburg, Germany, and Rosemarie Gumpert Goldschmidt, a violist. After emigrating to the United States, his mother was for 21 years a member of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra.[1][2] Goldsmith received a bachelor's degree from Johns Hopkins. From 1971 to 1975 he was a radio host, musical producer, and writer at classical radio station WCLV, in Cleveland, Ohio. He joined WETA-FM, Washington, D.C., in 1975, serving as producer, announcer, music director, and, eventually, program director. In 1987 he joined National Public Radio as a music producer for Performance Today. From 1989 to 1999 he hosted that program; he became its senior commentator in 1999. He then moved to XM Satellite Radio, where he serves as director of classical music programming and is frequently heard on Sirius XM's Symphony Hall channel.[1] Goldsmith has sung in the chorus of the Baltimore Opera Company and made a guest appearance with the Washington Opera. He has also acted in many roles in Washington-area theaters, including Arena Stage. He plays the French horn. His music reviews have appeared in The Washington Post.[1][3]
Goldsmith's awards include Yale's Cultural Leadership Citation (1998) and, for Performance Today, a George Foster Peabody Award (1998).[1]