Richard and the revolutionaries: why did lefties love Wagner?
Observer book of the week
Wagnerism: Art and Politics in the Shadow of Music by Alex Ross – review
May 2016
Reading list
The shock of the new: how classical music turned atonal
Guardian member John Keenan reviews The Rest Is Noise by Alex Ross, a study of how classical music reflected the 20th century’s cultural and political upheavals
April 2016
Books blog
Saying goodbye to the Guardian first book award
After 17 years of hunting the best new writing, of terrific winners and terrific rows, we’re saying goodbye to the prize. It will leave lots of great memories – please share yours
February 2015
How Björk broke the sound barrier
Ahead of a major retrospective at MoMA, New York, acclaimed music writer Alex Ross traces Björk’s musical journey
May 2013
Fervor: Remembering Lorraine Hunt Lieberson
The rest is power: classical music in the age of the dictatorship
February 2013
The Rest Is Noise festival
The Rest is Noise festival: Berlin, Kurt Weill and The Threepenny Opera - video preview
The Rest Is Noise festival
The Rest is Noise festival: Alex Ross in conversation - video interview
January 2013
USB Soundscapes: Eclectica – John Adams; The Rest is Noise: LPO/ Jurowski; Britten Sinfonia – review
John Adams conducts his own Shaker Loops, and the Britten Sinfonia and Mark Padmore have a power lunch, writes Fiona Maddocks
The Rest Is Noise festival
LPO/Jurowski – review
Karita Mattila's visceral performance brought the audience to its feet in this unforgettable chapter on Richard Strauss, writes Tim Ashley
The Rest Is Noise festival
The Rest Is Noise festival: 1900-1910
From Elgar to Nijinsky, we look at some of the people and events that helped shape the opening years of the cultural life of the 20th century
November 2012
The Rest Is Noise festival
The Rest is Noise festival: what's your favourite piece of 20th-century music?
The Rest Is Noise festival
In praise of … The Rest Is Noise
January 2012
Audiences flock to 'difficult' contemporary classical music
The Rest is Noise: Southbank festival to celebrate contemporary classical music
December 2011
Readers' reviews
Readers' reviews
The best of your comments on the latest films and music
December 2010
Paul Morley's showing off ...
Classical music critic Alex Ross talks to Paul Morley
Alex Ross, the acclaimed New Yorker music critic and author of The Rest Is Noise, discusses the strange landscape where pop meets classical music with Paul Morley
Paul Morley's showing off ...
... Alex Ross
Paul Morley readies himself for a gladiatorial clash of the critics with New Yorker music writer Alex Ross
Book of the week
Listen to This by Alex Ross – review
Charles Hazlewood applauds an inclusive survey of music that avoids genre distinctions
