Edward Benjamin Rothstein (born October 16, 1952) is an American critic. Rothstein wrote music criticism early in his career, but is best known for his critical analysis of museums and museum exhibitions. Rothstein holds a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

(1973), an

M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

in English literature from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

, and a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

from the

Committee on Social Thought The John U. Nef Committee on Social Thought is one of several PhD-granting committees at the University of Chicago. It was started in 1941 by historian John Ulric Nef along with economist Frank Knight, anthropologist Robert Redfield, and Univers ...

at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...

(1994). In addition, Rothstein did graduate work in mathematics at

Brandeis University , mottoeng = "Truth even unto its innermost parts" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = NECHE , president = Ronald D. Liebowitz , ...

. He was at ''The New York Times'' for a long time, but he took a buyout (a cash payout offered to employees, with compensation based on a sliding scale of the number of years they spent working for the employer) from the newspaper and joined ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

''. He wrote in 2020 that "At ''The New York Times'', freedom of speech gave way to group pressure, and debate turned into intimidation.". Rothstein was the cultural critic-at-large for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'',Yoe, Mary Ruth
"Everybody's a critic"
''

University of Chicago Magazine The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

'', February, 2004 (96:3). Listing for ''Vision of Utopia'' at the end of the ''UCM'' article appears to be incorrect; the corrected listing in this Wiki article is based o
Amazon listing
picture of book cover at Amazon, and internal Wiki links. particularly examining the reach and depth of museums, large and small, one by one. He has worked as a music critic for ''

The New Republic ''The New Republic'' is an American magazine of commentary on politics, contemporary culture, and the arts. Founded in 1914 by several leaders of the progressive movement, it attempted to find a balance between "a liberalism centered in hu ...

'' and as the chief music critic for the ''Times''. Rothstein is a two-time winner of the ASCAP

Deems Taylor Joseph Deems Taylor (December 22, 1885 – July 3, 1966) was an American music critic, composer, and promoter of classical music. Nat Benchley, co-editor of ''The Lost Algonquin Roundtable'', referred to him as "the dean of American music." Earl ...

Award for music criticism, and was given a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1991.

Writings

Archive of Rothstein's ''The Wall Street Journal'' articles

Archive of Rothstein's ''The New York Times'' articles

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20081013021440/http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/mozart.html "Mozart: In Search of the Roots of Genius" '' Smithsonian'', February, 2006.
"Contemplating Churchill"
''Smithsonian'', March, 2005. * ''Visions of Utopia'' (New York Public Library Lectures in Humanities), with

Herbert Muschamp Herbert Mitchell Muschamp (November 28, 1947 – October 2, 2007) was an American architecture critic. Early years Born in Philadelphia, Muschamp described his childhood home life as follows: "The living room was a secret. A forbidden zone. ...

and Martin E. Marty (Oxford University Press, 2004) .
1998 Diary
in '' Slate'' * ''Emblems of Mind: The Inner Life of Music and Mathematics'' (

Times Books Times Books (previously the New York Times Book Company) is a publishing imprint owned by the New York Times Company and licensed to Henry Holt and Company. Times Books began as the New York Times Book Company in 1969, when The New York Times Com ...

, 1995). * Foreword to

Arthur Loesser Arthur Adolph Loesser (August 26, 1894 – January 5, 1969) was an American classical pianist, musicologist, and writer. Early life Born into a musical family in New York City, Loesser received early piano training from his German-born father unti ...

's ''Men, Women and Pianos: A Social History'' (1991).
Archive of Rothstein's essays 1979-90
in ''

The New York Review of Books ''The New York Review of Books'' (or ''NYREV'' or ''NYRB'') is a semi-monthly magazine with articles on literature, culture, economics, science and current affairs. Published in New York City, it is inspired by the idea that the discussion of i ...

References

External links

* American music critics Classical music critics Living people 1952 births Place of birth missing (living people) Yale University alumni Columbia University alumni University of Chicago alumni Brandeis University alumni {{US-writer-stub