Justin Davidson introduces his book Magnetic City at Columbia GSAPP

Justin Davidson (born in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, in 1966) is a classical music and architecture critic. In 1983, he graduated from the

American Overseas School of Rome The American Overseas School of Rome (AOSR) is a private international school in Rome, Italy, accredited by the United States-based Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools. It has three divisions: Elementary School, Middle School and ...

, where his mother was an English teacher. Davidson began his journalism career as a local

stringer Stringer may refer to: Structural elements * Stringer (aircraft), or longeron, a strip of wood or metal to which the skin of an aircraft is fastened * Stringer (slag), an inclusion, possibly leading to a defect, in cast metal * Stringer (stairs), ...

for the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. ne ...

in Rome, before moving to the United States to study music at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

. He went on to earn a

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''li ...

degree at

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 ...

, where he also taught. A composer as well as a music critic, Davidson became a staff writer for the Long Island newspaper '' Newsday'' in 1996, where he also wrote about

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...

. In 2002, he won the Pulitzer Prize in criticism for "his crisp coverage of classical music that captures its essence." In September 2007, he was hired by ''

New York Magazine ''New York'' is an American biweekly magazine concerned with life, culture, politics, and style generally, and with a particular emphasis on New York City. Founded by Milton Glaser and Clay Felker in 1968 as a competitor to ''The New Yorker' ...

''.Former Newsday Staffer Justin Davidson Adjusting to the New Rhythms at New York Magazine , HuffPost
/ref> Davidson was among the faculty of

D-Crit D-Crit is the Design Criticism MFA department at the School of Visual Arts in New York City, chaired by Alice Twemlow and co-founded along with Steven Heller in 2006. In Fall 2008, the department enrolled 15 students, who became the inaugural cl ...

. He is married to Ariella Budick, a New York-based art critic for the ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Ni ...

''.

References

American music critics American architecture critics Writers from New York (state) Pulitzer Prize for Criticism winners 1966 births Living people Harvard University alumni Columbia University alumni Opera critics Classical music critics Newsday people {{Opera-bio-stub 20th-century American journalists American male journalists