In Tuesday’s (2/3) Chicago Sun-Times, Maureen O’Donnell and Miriam Di Nunzio write, “Andrew Patner, a critic and interviewer on WFMT-FM 98.7 and a lifelong observer of the arts in his native Chicago, died Tuesday. Patner was 55 and died at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Chicago. The cause of death was a bacterial infection that overwhelmed his body, according to Tom Bachtell, his longtime partner. ‘Andrew’s voice, keen intelligence and great spirit will be sorely missed at this radio station,’ said Steve Robinson, WFMT’s general manager, in a statement. Patner’s sharp commentary and criticism, found in two weekly WFMT programs, ranged widely, from classical music and opera to theater, dance, visual art, books and films. He also contributed articles to numerous publications, including Art & Antiques, The New Yorker, [The] Christian Science Monitor and New Art Examiner. A former editor and staff writer at Chicago magazine, and a staff reporter for The Wall Street Journal, Patner was an arts critic, program host and producer for Chicago’s National Public Radio affiliate, WBEZ-FM 91.5, for eight years. Patner was a regular contributor of arts criticism to the Chicago Sun-Times from 1991 on. Survivors, besides Bachtell, are his mother, Irene Patner; and brothers Seth and Joshua.”
Posted February 4, 2015
