Donald Mitchell is a musicologist who specializes in the music of Mahler and Britten. He has written numerous reviews, was editor of music books with Faber and Faber and was a collaborator of music journal Tempo. He was also Professor of Music at the University of Sussex. Mitchell became known through his book The Language of Modern Music (1963), and further wrote works such as Benjamin Britten: Death in Venice (1987), Gustav Mahler. The Early Years (1995) and Gustav Mahler.The Wunderhorn Years (2003).