[1] Among the leading critics of the West Coast, Commanday was a major presence in the Bay Area music scene over a five-decade career.

[4] The family regularly traveled to Manhattan for a variety of classical music performances, including the premiere of Gershwin's Porgy and Bess.

[5] Following the war's end, Commanday attended Juilliard for piano from 1946 to 1947, and had two teaching stints, at Ithaca College (1947–1948) as well as the University of Illinois (1948–1950).

[1] The composer Andrew Imbrie, who Commanday had met during the war, invited him to the University of California, Berkeley,[5] where he received a Master of Arts in 1952 for musicology.

[5] Adopting such aspects into his own writing, writer Janos Gereben noted that "[Commanday]'s sense of humor was cherished by all (but aggrieved performers) who knew him.

"[3] In Grove Music Online, Patrick J. Smith describes him an "erudite and informed writer",[1] while Joshua Kosman of SFGate stated that he had "exacting standards".

[1] His writings were often inextricably tied to San Francisco; according to Smith, he "was a champion of local composers and musical organizations".

[6] Commanday reportedly quipped that he "flunked retirement"; following his SF Chronicle tenure, he aimed to launch an online news site for the classical music scene of San Francisco.

[2] Having secured preliminary funding from businessman Gordon Getty, he worked with his wife, Mary Stevens Commanday, to create San Francisco Classical Voice (SFCV) in 1998.

[3] He was survived by his wife Mary, as well as daughter Michal, and son David, who conducts the Heartland Festival Orchestra of Peoria, Illinois.