Anthony Tommasini | |
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| Born | Anthony Carl Tommasini (1948-04-14)April 14, 1948 (age 77) Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
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Anthony Carl Tommasini (born April 14, 1948) is an Americanmusic critic and author who specializes inclassical music.[1] Described as "a discerning critic, whose taste, knowledge and judgment have made him a must-read",[2] Tommasini was thechief classical music critic forThe New York Times from 2000 to 2021. Also a pianist, he has released two CDS and two books on the music of his colleague and mentor, the composer and criticVirgil Thomson.
A classical music enthusiast since his youth, Tommasini attended bothYale University andBoston University to study piano, and then taught music atEmerson College. In 1986 he left academia to write music criticism forThe Boston Globe. Tommasini joined theTimes in 1996 and became their chief classical music critic in 2000 for over two decades. He traveled to cover important premieres ofcontemporary classical music, encouraged diversity in both classical repertoire and ensembles, and wrote books covering influentialoperas andcomposers.
Anthony Carl Tommasini was born inBrooklyn, New York, on April 14, 1948.[1][a] He grew up in a family of five inMalverne onLong Island, New York.[3][4] Though his parents were not musically inclined, Tommasini was interested inclassical music from a young age.[5] Beginning piano lessons in his youth, at 16 years of age he won a piano competition atThe Town Hall inManhattan, performing aMozartconcerto.[6] From age 15 on, he regularly attended theMetropolitan Opera, with operas byPuccini being particular favorites.[4] Other formative performances includedJoan Sutherland as Lucia in Donizetti'sLucia di Lammermoor;Birgit Nilsson as the title role of Puccini'sTurandot;Renata Tebaldi as Mimì in Puccini'sLa bohème; andLeontyne Price as the title role ofVerdi'sAida.[6] From his teens, Tommasini also cites a performance ofLeonard Bernstein conducting theNew York Philharmonic inBeethoven'sSymphony No. 3 andStravinsky'sThe Rite of Spring as particularly inspirational.[7] He was a fan of the pianistRudolf Serkin, whose recitals he frequently attended, and was overwhelmed by Stravinsky conducting hisSymphony of Psalms at theLincoln Center.[8] A graduate ofSaint Paul's School inGarden City, New York,[9] Tommasini studied piano with Donald Currier atYale University, receiving aBachelor of Arts (1970) and aMaster of Music (1972).[1] He subsequently earned aDoctor of Musical Arts (1982) fromBoston University, during which he studied with the pianistLeonard Shure.[1] A decade later, he won the 1998 Boston University School of Music Distinguished Alumni Award.[6]
Based in Boston, Tommasini taught music atEmerson College from 1978 to 1986, and also lednon-fiction writing workshops atWesleyan University andBrandeis University.[1] In 1985 at Emerson, he met the composerVirgil Thomson, who became both a friend and mentor.[10] Tommasini published a survey of Thomson's piano music,Virgil Thomson's Musical Portraits (1986),[11] which was a revision and expansion of his 1982 DMA dissertation.[12] He was denied tenure at Emerson College, as the college eliminated his position; Tommasini later noted that although disappointing, "the best thing that ever happened to me was not getting tenure at Emerson, or I might still be there, and none of [my future career] would've happened".[10]In response, Tommasini turned to music criticism.[10] He was afreelancer, and wrote forThe Boston Globe for a decade, beginning in 1986.[6]
Tommasini became a staff writer forThe New York Times in 1996, and was promoted to chief classical music critic in 2000.[6] In addition to Thomson, his mentors includeRichard Dyer, who was chief classical music critic ofThe Boston Globe for 33 years.[6] At theTimes, Tommasini traveled for important premieres ofcontemporary classical music, includingSaariaho'sL'Amour de loin (2000),Adès'sThe Tempest (2004) andTurnage'sAnna Nicole (2011).[2] He covered certain musicians particularly often, such asPeter Serkin,Leif Ove Andsnes,Michael Tilson Thomas andEsa-Pekka Salonen.[2] Tommasini often advocated for increased diversity in the classical music world;[2] his comment that "American orchestras should think a little less about how they play and a little more about what they play and why they play it" is often quoted.[7] In this regard, his colleagues at theTimes described him as "something of a provocateur: challenging the field to take more risks, embrace new music and rethink old, hidebound habits".[2] Tommasini's 2020 article which suggestedblind auditions be abandoned so race can be considered to assist in diversifying ensembles was met with "intense debate";[2][13] InNew Music USA, Maia Jasper White noted that the idea received "heavy backlash".[14] Tommasini stepped down from his post in 2021; with a 21 year tenure he has been chief classical music critic ofThe New York Times for the longest period sinceOlin Downes.[2][b] In April 2022,Zachary Woolfe was named Tommasini's successor as chief classical music critic for theTimes.[16]
Tommasini is the author ofVirgil Thomson: Composer on the Aisle,[17] which received the 1998ASCAP-Deems Taylor Award, andOpera: A Critic's Guide to the 100 Most Important Works and the Best Recordings.[18][12] Also a pianist, Tommasini made two recordings of music by Virgil Thomson forNortheastern Records,Portraits and Self-Portraits andMostly About Love: Songs and Vocal Works.[12] Both were funded through grants from theNational Endowment for the Arts.[12]
In 2011, after soliciting comments from readers, Tommasini published a list of the ten greatest classical composers. They were, in order: 1.Johann Sebastian Bach 2.Ludwig van Beethoven 3.Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart 4.Franz Schubert 5.Claude Debussy 6.Igor Stravinsky 7.Johannes Brahms 8.Giuseppe Verdi 9.Richard Wagner 10.Béla Bartók.[19] The project was not without controversy, and Tommasini conceded that readers who argued forClaudio Monteverdi were "probably right".[19] He added: "Would that I could include my belovedPuccini."[19] He discussed these composers, and others, in his bookThe Indispensable Composers (2018).[20]
Tommasini lives onCentral Park West inManhattan, New York City with his husband Ben McCommon, who is a psychiatrist.[6][8] After his leave from theTimes at the end of 2021, Tommasini said he might return to teaching, and that he has two further book ideas.[7] In 2022 he took up a teaching position at theJuilliard School's Extension Division, launching a new course, "Critical Listening with Anthony Tommasini".[21]
| Year | Album | Performers | Label |
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| 1990 | Portraits and Self Portraits Works byVirgil Thomson | Anthony Tommasini,piano; and Sharan Leventhalviolin | Northeastern Records[29][30] |
| 1994 | Mostly about Love: Songs and Vocal Works Works byVirgil Thomson | Anthony Tommasini,piano; various others[c] | Northeastern Records[31][32] |
