What Alex Ross thinks about benchmarks

@alex-ross · 4 positions · On ppll ↗

Music critic of The New Yorker since 1996 and author of The Rest Is Noise, Listen to This and Wagnerism.

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1 dated position, 2026, in their own words. Our reading of what Alex Ross has said — not written or endorsed by them.

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1. 17 Jun 2026

   Our readingBenjamin Britten is the benchmark among English-language composers for setting the work of intensely musical writers like Shakespeare and Keats to music.

   Their wordsIn the English-language arena, Britten sets the standard for handling writers of inborn musical power-the likes of Shakespeare, Donne, Blake, Keats, Hopkins.

   ↗Liner notes to What Belongs to Youtherestisnoise.com 2nd of 2 in this piece