Alex Ross Wins MacArthur

Music critic Alex Ross ’90 has just been named a MacArthur Fellow for his encyclopedic first book...

Music critic Alex Ross ’90 has just been named a MacArthur Fellow. Ross is a regular columnist for the New Yorker and his encyclopedic first book, The Rest Is Noise, chronicles twentieth-century music from Gustav Mahler to John Cage. It won the National Book Critics Circle Award for criticism and made numerous best-of-the-year lists, including those of the New York Times and Washington Post. In awarding him the fellowship, the foundation said:

"In an era when many proclaim the imminent demise of concert halls due to waning attendance, Ross offers both highly specialized and casual readers new ways of thinking about the music of the past and its place in our future."

Read more about Ross and his criticism in this article from the July-August 2008 issue of Harvard Magazine.

You might also like

Harvard’s Hasty Pudding Honors Rose Byrne

The Bridesmaids actress celebrated her 2026 Woman of the Year Award with a roast and a parade.

How a Harvard and Lesley Group Broke Choir Singing Wide Open

Cambridge Common Voices draws on principles of universal design. 

Rabbi, Drag Queen, Film Star

Sabbath Queen, a new documentary, follows one man’s quest to make Judaism more expansive.

Most popular

Harvard Professor Michael Sandel Wins Philosophy’s Berggruen Prize

The creator of the popular ‘Justice’ course receives a $1 million award.

Martin Nowak Placed on Leave a Second Time

Further links to Jeffrey Epstein surface in newly released files

The True Cost of Grade Inflation at Harvard

How an abundance of A’s created “the most stressed-out world of all.”

Explore More From Current Issue

Firefighters battling flames at a red building, surrounded by smoke and onlookers.

Yesterday’s News

How a book on fighting the “Devill World” survived Harvard’s historic fire.

Modern campus collage: Treehouse Conference Center, One Milestone labs, Verra apartment, and co-working space.

The Enterprise Research Campus in Allston Nears Completion

A hotel, restaurants, and other retail establishments are open or on the way.

Older man in a green sweater holds a postcard in a warmly decorated office.

How a Harvard Hockey Legend Became a Needlepoint Artist

Joe Bertagna’s retirement project recreates figures from Boston sports history.