Renowned music critic to lecture on 20th century music

New Yorker music critic Alex Ross will give a lecture, which he describes as a “whirlwind audio tour of 20th century music,” 3:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Jacobs School of Music. The lecture will be free and open to the public. \nJacobs School of Music professor Robert Hatten said the school is honored to have Ross speak to the students at IU. Hatten described Ross as at the “top of his profession.” \nRoss has received several awards, including two American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers Deems Taylor awards for music criticism, and fellowships from the American Academy in Berlin. \nRoss grew up listening to classical music, and nothing else.\n“Classical music was the only music I listened to and cared about (up until high school),” Ross said. \nHe listened to classical composers from Mozart to Brahms. In high school, Ross explored his many talents as a pianist, an oboist and a composer. In college, he began to study 20th century classical music. This discovery was eye-opening for Ross and led him to study many other types of music, such as jazz.\nBoth Hatten and Ross’ publicist Laurel Cook said Ross has a wide spectrum of musical knowledge. Ross tried to become a composer in college, but realized it was much too difficult, he said. After realizing that becoming a composer would prove too tumultuous, Ross got into the profession of music criticism and writing about music. He has even started a blog, which can be found at www.therestisnoise.com. \nRoss recently came out with his first book, “The Rest Is Noise,” which is also the title of his lecture. Cook gave Ross’ book great praise.\n“We are all extremely excited and happy that his book has gotten such great reviews,” she said. “He definitely deserves it. I have never met a nicer, more talented person.”\nShe also said Ross was on “The Colbert Report” on Tuesday, emphasizing that Ross really does cover a wide spectrum. \nHatten also added his two cents on Ross’ book, describing “The Rest is Noise” as wonderful and calling it a book everyone should read. Hatten said the book’s discussion of “the cultural struggles of composers” is important.\nRoss said it is important to know that classical music isn’t just referring to the period before the 19th century. He wants to make the point in the lecture that classical music is a living tradition and not a musical genre of the past. \n“We often don’t like what we don’t know,” Hatten said.\nHe was referring to the idea that classical music is often associated with older generations and is untouched by the younger generations.\nRoss hopes to change all those opinions in his lecture Tuesday.