New York Times Critic Anthony Tommasini Argues That for Classical Music to Have the a Vibrant Future, It Has to Get Case Over Its Vibrant Past

BY SUSAN SELIGSON

New York Times critic Anthony Tommasini argues that for classical music to have The a vibrant future, it has to get Case over its vibrant past. for New

At an age when schoolmates death by inbreeding, and to were captivated by Mickey expand the repertoires of major Mantle, Anthony Tommasini had orchestras to include the works a different idol: Giacomo Puccini. of the next generation of classical When he was 15, he would ride composers. And although he is too the train to Manhattan from his modest to count them as personal Long Island suburb to blissfully victories, his commentaries have endure the vertigo of the fifth contributed to a rejuvenation of balcony of the Metropolitan Opera the New York Philharmonic under House. There, he soaked up the the direction of the young Alan exhortations of a pining Tosca and Gilbert and what appears to be a the arias of a lovesick Madame promising revival of the moribund Butterfly. From then until now, New York City Opera. when he occupies a seat in the He has also been a weighty orchestra, the chief classical music supporter of boundary-pushing critic of the New York Times has artists like Norwegian pianist been consumed by music. Leif Ove Andsnes, Los Angeles At 62, Tommasini is a bespec ta- composer Stephen Hartke, and cled, reserved man whose solemn, composer and 2009 Pulitzer almost hangdog demeanor is a finalist Harold Meltzer. When counterpoint to the outsized per- George Steel, a relative newcomer sonalities of many of the divas he to opera, was hired two years ago writes about. In his perch as one as general manager and artistic of the most influential classical director of the New York City music critics in the world, Tomma- Opera, Tommasini applauded what sini treads respectfully—he is, after others saw as a risky move. Now, all, covering the Metropol itan the company is inarguably on the Opera for its loftiest patron as upswing. well as the wide-eyed novice. Born to musically indifferent If Tommasini has an agenda, parents, Tommasini (CFA’82) as it is to save classical music from a preschooler incessantly picked

22 BOSTONIA Winter–Spring 2011 PHOTOGRAPHS BY JOSHUA PAUL

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222-512-51 BostoniaWinter11_03.inddBostoniaWinter11_03.indd 2323 22/4/11/4/11 22:15:15 PMPM “In a phrase, his writing is keen and kind.”

On Alan Gilbert, the new, On “the dearth of divas” On Joan Sutherland’s On Luciano Pavarotti young conductor of the (New York Times, bearing (New York Times, (New York Times, New York Philharmonic October 22, 2006): October 11, 2010): September 6, 2007): (New York Times, “Again, I welcome the broad- “At 5 foot 9, she was a large “For intelligence, discipline, September 9, 2007): er repertory and new com- woman, with long arms and breadth of repertory, musi- “My advice to him is to relax mitment to presenting opera large hands, and a long, cianship, interpretive depth, and enjoy himself. That Mr. as an adventurous genre wide face. As her renown and virile vocalism, Mr. Pa- Gilbert is an accomplished of musical drama, as in the increased, she insisted that varotti was outclassed by his and inquisitive musician Met’s new ‘Madama Butter- designers create costumes Three Tenors sidekick and without a trace of the impe- fly.’ Still, I count myself lucky for her that compensated chief rival, Placido Domingo. rious maestro makes him to have heard during my ado- for her figure, which, as she But for sheer Italianate teno- a refreshing choice for the lescence and early twenties admitted self-deprecatingly rial beauty, Mr. Pavarotti Philharmonic.” some of the legendary practi- in countless interviews, was was hard to top. That was tioners of that great tradition somewhat flat in the bust but certainly the position of his when it was still going strong. wide in the rib cage.” longtime manager, Herbert When you heard Tebaldi as Breslin, who combined his Mimi…Ms. Price as Aida or own promotional savvy with Joan Sutherland as Lucia di his chief client’s vocal great- Lammermoor, who even no- ness to produce the money- ticed the production?” making phenomenon that was Mr. Pavarotti’s career. LUONG THAI LINH/EPA/CORBIS LUONG CORBIS Call it Pavarotti, Inc.”

out tunes on a toy keyboard, “like African American soprano to conquer 33 years as the Boston Globe’s classical Schroeder,” he recalls. After he per- the opera stage. music critic. suaded his parents to buy an actual He joined the Times staff in 1996 His long friendship with Dyer began piano, he attracted attention not and was named chief classical music in December 1986, when the Globe only for his playing—at 16 he won a critic in 2000. Today, his essays, mus- critic asked the young freelancer, who competition performing a Mozart ings, and often-pointed but never acer- had contributed a few pieces to the concerto at Manhattan’s Town Hall— bic criticism have earned him free rein paper, if he would be willing to drive to but also for his unbounded appetite at the million-plus circulation paper, a Worcester on New Year’s Eve to cover for musical knowledge. commentary and video blog, and a vast, a Pavarotti concert that was a recap of “I figured out a lot of things on my mostly appreciative readership. one Dyer had already written about. own,” says Tommasini, sipping tea Tommasini—Tony to his friends— “He’d been well trained as a musi- in the 14th-floor Central Park West is no snob. Winner of the School of cian,” says Dyer. “He really did know apartment he shares with his long- Music’s 1998 Distinguished Alumni what he was hearing. As my predeces- time partner, psychiatrist Benjamin Award, he is as likely to wax poetic sor, Michael Steinberg, once said, ‘I McCommon. “A grammar school over Frank Loesser’s Guys and Dolls as was interested in people who shared teacher who was a big opera buff gave he is over Christoph Willibald Gluck’s my standards, but not my taste.’” me some advice, but part of it was just Alceste. To the occasional grumblings Tommasini brought a fresh outlook; luck.” That luck still astounds him. of insular opera aficionados (“…the he was interested in new music and He lost his opera virginity, one might narrow limits of Tommasini’s per- over time, says Dyer, “he became more say, with Lucia in Gaetano Donizetti’s sonal aesthetic seem to constrain widely and profoundly educated.” tragic Lucia di Lammermoor, sung by his appreciation of large segments of After contributing for almost a world-renowned Australian soprano the wide world of opera,” sniffs one decade to the Globe, Tommasini de- Joan Sutherland, whose obituary blogger), Tommasini is committed, cided his apprenticeship was over. he would write for the Times more he says, to writing reviews that speak “I wanted a job,” he says. “But there than four decades later. His first to both specialists and novices. “I’m was no job.” Turandot in the Puccini classic was the a generalist, in the very best sense of His partner was about to attend celebrated Swedish dramatic soprano the word.” medical school in New York, and a Birgit Nilsson. And the starstruck His mentors include composer friend suggested that Tommasini teen’s introduction to what would be Virgil Thomson, the New York Herald come to New York and be a freelancer. a lifelong procession of Aidas was the Tribune music critic from 1940 to 1954, “I did,” he says, and wrote for several remarkable Leontyne Price, the first and Richard Dyer, now retired after publications until the Times offered

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222-512-51 BostoniaWinter11_03.inddBostoniaWinter11_03.indd 2424 22/4/11/4/11 22:16:16 PMPM essays, is a portrait gallery of friends lost to AIDS. Those early, cruel years of the HIV epidemic still resonate with Tommasini and have infused him with an ever-percolating gratitude for his professional accomplishments and good fortune, the surprise of rich new musical works, and the companionship of the man he loves. Born in Brooklyn, Tommasini grew up in a family of five in Malverne, N.Y., where his first exposure to live music was a production of the 1956 Harold Karr musical Happy Hunting, starring Ethel Merman. Later he would take his parents to concerts, but for years him a contract, which led to a staff wrote in the Times’ Critic’s Notebook his classical fix came largely from an position and culminated in his in 2002. “It’s essential for those who unwieldy collection of records, which promotion to chief classical music want this art form to have a future in those days, he recalls, cost no more critic in 2000. as well as a history to encourage new than $3. “In seventh grade I went to work and cajole ensembles, orchestras, St. Paul’s, a small, all-male private ROCK OR CLASSICAL? and opera companies into supporting school in Garden City, where I was the A fixture on behalf of the Times at the living composers. Yet such calls are not music,” he says. He taught himself to Bayreuth Festival and other long- meant as a criticism of the standard play the organ he alone commanded esteemed classical showcases, Tom- repertory. These works have survived every morning at chapel. “I liked being masini is equally attentive to new, for a reason. The problem is that a big shot.” occasionally disastrous incarnations repertory staples are trotted out too At the end of his sophomore year, of staples such as Puccini’s Tosca or often for their own good.” Tommasini was accepted to a summer Mozart’s Don Giovanni. And he is “What I admire in Tony’s program at Dartmouth College spon- distinguished from many classical criticism is not only his wide music critics by his passion for and deep knowledge of music American composers and underper- —rare is the critic who holds a “You don’t hear people formed contemporary works that ex- doctorate in music and has cite and astonish him, such as Judith made professional record- saying, ‘I love movies, Weir’s A Night at the Chinese Opera. ings—but the humanity of his The classical music world’s general outlook,” says Alex Ross, who but who wants to resistance to new compositions irks covers classical music for The Tommasini. “You don’t hear people New Yorker. “In a phrase, his go to a new movie?’” saying, ‘I love movies, but who wants writing is keen and kind.” And to go to a new movie?’” he says. “Sup- according to Dyer, “Tomma- pose you had a repertory theater that sini was a nice guy 20 years produced four new plays, four 19th- ago and he still is, in a job that century plays, and four early to mid- has corrupted more than one. He sored by Juilliard Prep. The experience 20th-century plays”—the same ratio never puts on airs in his writing or transformed his life both musically “would be a radical season for the in his thinking.” and socially. “I was home,” he says. Boston Symphony Orchestra.” His home, although it boasts “The one thing I’d never done was play And he dismisses people claiming location, location, location (it’s a with other musicians, and the program classical music is elitist. “What does stroll away from the iconic Cathedral threw me in with them; they were it cost to go to a rock concert or see Church of St. John the Divine, and a used to it, but it was all new for me. I the Yankees or the Knicks play?” he person unafraid of heights can lean remember wasting time just going to asks. “Rush tickets, at $20, can be for out the window for a sweep of the en- orchestra rehearsals for hours.” the best seats in the house, and there tire park, east and south to Manhat- Tommasini was admitted to the is more free classical music than any tan’s glittering skyline), is as free of highly regarded Oberlin College other art form. BU alone has about ostentation as Tommasini himself. Conservatory of Music, but he opted three events a day.” Photos of family and friends punctuate for a broader liberal education at Yale. “Of all the performing arts, classical shelves housing a vast CD collection. “I knew I was smart, and I wanted to go music has been the most hopelessly A wall in his Spartan home office, to a good college,” he says, “but I also bound to past repertory,” Tommasini where he writes his Times reviews and thought, I’m a talented pianist, but I’m

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222-512-51 BostoniaWinter11_03.inddBostoniaWinter11_03.indd 2525 22/4/11/4/11 22:16:16 PMPM not great.” After four years of music Emerson staged theThomson opera the tragic story, he wrote: “The uplift woven into solid academics, he went The Mother of Us All, Thomson loved in Madame Butterfly comes from on to earn a master’s in music at Yale, the production, and a friendship was Puccini’s music. As the story sinks followed by a doctorate at the College born. In 1984, Thomson, who had into tragedy, the searing, melodically of Fine Arts. Under the tutelage of BU’s produced a series of lyrical musical haunting music expresses the inex- Leonard Shure, Tommasini rethought portraits of subjects ranging from his pressible about infatuation, selfless his prospects as a concert pianist. Paris contemporary Gertrude Stein love, foolish devotion, motherly bond- Shure was “an astonishing pianist to the colorful New York mayor of the ing, and abject shame. That Puccini and teacher, and I never knew I could 1930s and ’40s, Fiorello LaGuardia, takes you so deep provides a kind of work so hard, partly because we were composed one about Tommasini. comfort—the comfort of sad truth.” all terrified,” he says. Throughout his Tommasini in turn played piano on Rather than glorying in ownership late ’70s and early ’80s years at BU, a recording of some of Thomson’s of a towering international voice in he waited tables at Victoria Station. works. He later focused on Thomson’s what he calls the most conservative “It was exhausting,” says Tommasini, portraits in his doctoral thesis, which of the performing arts, Tommasini who also taught piano privately until became the biography Virgil Thomson: appears humbled by the notion. He’s the day he began teaching music at Composer on the Aisle, published accustomed to people expressing Emerson College. in 2004. envy of his concertgoing lifestyle, but After Emerson, Tommasini was reminds them that the real work—the casting about for teaching positions, writing—comes afterward. It’s hard During his years at BU, when he offered himself to the Globe, work, always. And when it comes to and to Dyer, whom he knew slightly. producing that work, on deadline, Tommasini waited tables For two years Tommasini photocopied day after day, says Tommasini, his every Globe article he wrote and sent status, however powerful, is mainly a at Victoria Station. “It them to Thomson in New York. “We’d distraction. meet at the Chelsea Hotel, where “A lot of people are waiting to see was exhausting,” he says. Thomson had an apartment, for the what I’m going to say, but if that were post mortems,” says Tommasini. “Be- in my head, I couldn’t write,” he says, tween him and Richard Dyer, I had the describing music criticism as a mix best mentors.” of opinion and news. Unlike theater Nearly 30 years later, Tomma- critics, whose opinions can close a When he came up for tenure in sini says, he still looks to the leg acy Broadway show, music critics can his early 30s, Emerson did away with of Thomson for the humanity and encourage or discourage readers to his position. “The moral of the story,” humor that bring criticism to life. “It’s attend a production that is going to he says, “is that the best thing that impossible to come up with words to have its 11 performances no matter ever happened to me was not getting describe a piece of music, and every what a review says. But the self- tenure at Emerson, or I might still day I have to come up with those effacing Tommasini does apply his be there, and none of this would’ve words, and it’s always been hard and influence, happily, when he implores happened.” His Emerson experience never gets easy,” he says. “But Virgil concertgoers to open their minds and taught Tommasini a lesson he likes to came up with the most homespun expand their horizons. pass along to young people: “It’s very ways to get across how music sounded. Emerging musicians will always important to have perseverance, but No one ever topped him at that. It revere Mozart and Beethoven, whose you don’t want to be so fixed on a goal” was miraculous. And hilarious. And brilliant work, it should be remem- that you miss other opportunities. charming.” bered, was considered brash in their His place in the firmament of time, but Tommasini is heartened by MIRACULOUS, HILARIOUS, CHARMING music scribes secure, Tommasini still the adventurous strides of young It was at Emerson he encountered considers himself part educator. “I still artists. He writes enthusiastically Virgil Thomson. At the time, the care a lot about illuminating things and about a new freedom among gifted school’s focus on musical theater about teaching,” he says. “Some opera young musicians who are moving meant that talented singers weren’t bloggers hate me because I don’t throw beyond fixed ideologies. getting roles because terms like tessitura around. But if Tommasini believes we have “they weren’t good WEB EXTRA I’m writing a review of Das Reingold, entered what he calls a “postdogma actors or they Watch a video of I’m also writing for people who have period,” characterized by American were fat,” says Tom- classical music never seen an opera.” composers and musicians from the new masini, who decided critic Anthony After experiencing a 2002 Met- generation. These are the people who, Tommasini to embrace produc- talking about his ropolitan Opera performance of with Tommasini cheering on the best tions where the mu- work at bu.edu/ Madame Butterfly in the company of them, will, he writes, “save classical sic came first. When bostonia. of a young friend unfamiliar with music from itself.” p

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