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 Harvard Choral Group Sings Again, 50 Years Later

The Harvard-Radcliffe Collegium Musicum reunites for a 50th anniversary tour around France.

Cambridge Once Fought Harvard’s DNA Research. Now There’s a Play About It.

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

Bill Rauch Is Having a (Jellicle) Ball

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

Most popular

Harvard Alumni Win Two 2026 Nobel Prizes

Karl Deisseroth revolutionized neuroscience. Navanethem “Navi” Pillay has adjudicated cases in international courts concerning genocide.

Lafayette’s Unexpected Gift to George Washington: Pheasants

The two birds will be on display at Harvard this summer.

Harvard Weathers a Year of Turmoil

The federal government has launched unprecedented actions against the University. Here’s a guide.

Explore More From Current Issue

Three hands hold smartphones displaying social media profiles with likes and hearts.

Tell us about how social media impacts your daily life.

A football player in a white jersey evades a defender in a green uniform on the field.

Despite personnel losses, Crimson captain Xaviah Bascon is upbeat about the 2026 season.

Runners compete on a track, with a Harvard athlete in the foreground and others behind.

After a historic 2025-26 season, athletes eye NCAA championships.