Harold Schonberg, 87; Chief Music Critic for the New York Times

Harold C. Schonberg, 87, a former chief music critic for the New York Times and the first winner of a Pulitzer Prize for criticism, died of unspecified causes Saturday in a Manhattan hospital.

Schonberg worked for the New York paper from 1950 until 1985, and estimated that he had written 1.3 million words during his tenure as chief critic from 1960 to 1980. In addition to his articles of criticism, he wrote 13 books, including some that have become standard reference works.

An expert on piano who studied from age 4, Schonberg in 1979 published a column about the results -- inconclusive -- of asking acquaintances to guess the sex of the pianist on tapes he played. His effort led classical radio disc jockeys across the country to concoct similar tests of their own.

Born in the Washington Heights section of New York City, Schonberg served in the Army Airborne Signal Corps during World War II. After the war, he became a music critic for the New York Sun until joining the New York Times. During his long tenure, he also wrote about chess and contributed book reviews under an assumed name.