21 Facts About Anthony Tommasini

Anthony Carl Tommasini was born on April 14,1948 and is an American music critic and author who specializes in classical music.

Anthony Tommasini joined the Times in 1996 and became their chief classical music critic in 2000 for over two decades.

Anthony Tommasini traveled to cover important premieres of contemporary classical music, encouraged diversity in both classical repertoire and ensembles, and wrote books covering influential operas and composers.

Anthony Carl Tommasini was born in Brooklyn, New York, on April 14,1948.

Anthony Tommasini grew up in a family of five in Malverne on Long Island, New York.

From his teens, Anthony Tommasini cites a performance of Leonard Bernstein conducting the New York Philharmonic in Beethoven's Symphony No 3 and Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring as particularly inspirational.

Anthony Tommasini was a fan of the pianist Rudolf Serkin, whose recitals he frequently attended, and was overwhelmed by Stravinsky conducting his Symphony of Psalms at the Lincoln Center.

Anthony Tommasini subsequently earned a Doctor of Musical Arts from Boston University, during which he studied with the pianist Leonard Shure.

Anthony Tommasini published a survey of Thomson's piano music, Virgil Thomson's Musical Portraits, which was a revision and expansion of his 1982 DMA dissertation.

Anthony Tommasini 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".

Anthony Tommasini was a freelancer, and wrote for The Boston Globe for a decade, beginning in 1986.

Anthony Tommasini became a staff writer for The New York Times in 1996, and was promoted to chief classical music critic in 2000.

At the Times, Anthony Tommasini traveled for important premieres of contemporary classical music, including Saariaho's L'Amour de loin, Ades's The Tempest and Turnage's Anna Nicole.

Anthony Tommasini covered certain musicians particularly often, such as Peter Serkin, Leif Ove Andsnes, Michael Tilson Thomas and Esa-Pekka Salonen.

Anthony Tommasini often advocated for increased diversity in the classical music world; 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.

Anthony Tommasini stepped down from his post in 2021; with a 21 year tenure he has been chief classical music critic of The New York Times for the longest period since Olin Downes.

Anthony Tommasini is the author of Virgil Thomson: Composer on the Aisle, which received the 1998 ASCAP-Deems Taylor Award, and Opera: A Critic's Guide to the 100 Most Important Works and the Best Recordings.

Also a pianist, Anthony Tommasini made two recordings of music by Virgil Thomson for Northeastern Records, Portraits and Self-Portraits and Mostly About Love: Songs and Vocal Works.

In 2011, after soliciting comments from readers, Anthony Tommasini published a list of the ten greatest classical composers.

The project was not without controversy, and Anthony Tommasini conceded that readers who argued for Claudio Monteverdi were "probably right".

Anthony Tommasini lives on Central Park West in Manhattan, New York City with his husband Ben McCommon, who is a psychiatrist.