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

A theatrical reenactment explores a 1976 clash between science and democracy.

The Harvard Arts Medalist wants his smash-hit Cats revival to reach “as many young queer people” as possible.

Graduates John Lithgow, Bill Rauch, and Bess Wohl took home prizes on Sunday night.

Most popular

The Supreme Court Affirmative Action Rulings: An Analysis

The underlying arguments project clashing worldviews of race and appropriate remedies.

The Secrets of Haiti’s Living Dead

 A Harvard botanist investigates mystic potions, voodoo rites, and the making of zombies.

An animal’s journey from grief to love shows how much humans need each other, too.

Explore More From Current Issue

Two figures stand before a large, colorful pixelated face against a yellow background.

Harvard scientists identify hundreds of genes under selective pressure.

A woman with long, silver hair rests her chin on her hand, wearing a black top.

Author and Harvard Divinity School writer-in-residence Terry Tempest Williams finds beauty in the world around us.

A vibrant group of dancers in colorful outfits poses on a stage with shiny decorations.

The Harvard Arts Medalist wants his smash-hit Cats revival to reach “as many young queer people” as possible.