One of the burdens an arts critic has to bear is that of suspicion from and by her readers. No matter how well the public gets to know someone who offers opinions for a living, there's always a question lurking in the back of its collective mind: "Does she really know what she's talking about?"

When it came to Margaret M. Barela, who died Friday in Albuquerque after a six-year fight against ovarian cancer, there was never really any question that the answer was yes. Barela, 62, not only knew what she wrote about; she also knew how to express herself in lucid, thoughtful prose. You might not agree with what she had to say, but you could hardly find fault with how she said it.

Barela had plenty of professional credentials as a pianist, violinist, teacher and scholar to back up her critical opinions. She wrote informational and scholarly articles for national and international journals, served on National Endowment for the Arts grants panels, and lectured and taught at many colleges and universities around the country. In New Mexico, she regularly reviewed books and music for both the Albuquerque Journal and Albuquerque Tribune.

A native New Mexican, Barela studied piano and violin as a child and later served as organist in various Catholic churches in Albuquerque. At The University of New Mexico, she studied piano under George Robert and violin with Yoko Hayashi and Henri Bittar, graduating with a bachelor's degree in music magna cum laude in 1969. She then earned master's and doctoral degrees in piano performance at Indiana University, where she worked with Menahem Pressler and Alfonso Montecino.

As a pianist, Barela performed concerto and recital repertoire widely and collaborated with chamber musicians at the American Conservatory of Music, the University of Oklahoma, Louisiana State University, Roosevelt University and at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center, among others. She performed in contemporary music festivals at Texas Tech University, the University of Kansas, Florida State University and Tulane University.

As a writer, Barela contributed to many music journals, including American Record Guide, Chamber Music, Musical America, Clavier, Opera News, Mundo Clásico and College Music Symposium. She received a prestigious ASCAP-Deems Taylor Award in 1980 for her 1979 article in College Music Symposium, "Motion in Musical Time and Rhythm."

The daughter of Eugene P. and Esther G. Barela of Albuquerque, founders of Southwest Housewares, she is survived by a brother, Paul Barela of Houston, and a sister, Carla Barela of Pueblo, Colo.

Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Saturday along with a memorial service in the chapel at Mount Calvary Cemetery and Mausoleum, 1900 Edith Blvd. N.E. in Albuquerque. Memorial donations in Barela's name may be made to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund, www.ocrf.org.