Conversations with Tyler

Alex Ross on Music, Culture, and Criticism

Sep 22, 2020

Alex Ross, a music critic for The New Yorker and author of "Wagnerism," talks about the nuanced connections between music and culture. He highlights the complex legacy of Wagner, the impact of recording technology on orchestras, and the training deficits in modern opera singers. Ross critiques artistic choices in films by Lars von Trier and Orson Welles, predicts shifts in concert attendance post-COVID, and discusses the influences of Rothko on music. His insights bridge the gap between classical music and wider cultural narratives.

01:01:20

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Episode guests

Alex Ross

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Episode notes

Intro

3min

Exploring Wagner's Legacy and Influence

27min

Critiquing Artistic Choices: From Von Trier to Welles

2min

Franz Liszt's Transcriptions and the Future of Classical Music Post-Pandemic

5min

Redefining Concert Etiquette

15min

Music, Mentorship, and Modernism

6min

Exploring the Vibrant World of Wagner's Music

2min

To Alex Ross, good music critics must be well-rounded and have command of neighboring cultural areas. “When you're writing about opera, you're writing about literature as well as music, you're writing about staging, theater ideas, as well as music,” says the veteran music journalist and staff writer for The New Yorker. His most recent book, Wagnerism: Art and Politics in the Shadow of Music, explores the complicated legacy of Wagner, as well as how music shapes and is shaped by its cultural context.

Alex joined Tyler to discuss the book, what gets lost in the training of modern opera singers, the effect of recording technology on orchestras, why he doesn’t have “guilty pleasures,” how we should approach Wagner today, the irony behind most uses of “Ride of the Valkyries” in cinema, his favorite Orson Welles film, his predictions for concert attendance after COVID-19, why artistic life in Europe will likely recover faster than in America, Rothko’s influence on composer Morton Feldman, his contender for the greatest pop album ever made, how his Harvard dissertation on James Joyce prepared him for a career writing about music, and more.

Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links, or watch the full video.

Recorded August 20th, 2020 Other ways to connect

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