[4] Other impressionable performances included Joan Sutherland as Lucia in Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor; Birgit Nilsson as the title role of Puccini's Turandot; Renata Tebaldi as Mimì in Puccini's La bohème; and Leontyne Price as the title role of Verdi's Aida.
[7] He 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.
[8] A graduate of Saint Paul's School in Garden City, New York,[9] Tommasini studied piano with Donald Currier at Yale University, receiving a Bachelor of Arts (1970) and a Master of Music (1972).
[6] In addition to Thomson, his mentors include Richard Dyer, who was chief classical music critic of The Boston Globe for 33 years.
[6] At the Times, Tommasini traveled for important premieres of contemporary classical music, including Saariaho's L'Amour de loin (2000), Adès's The Tempest (2004) and Turnage's Anna Nicole (2011).
[2] He covered certain musicians particularly often, such as Peter Serkin, Leif Ove Andsnes, Michael Tilson Thomas and Esa-Pekka Salonen.
[7] In this regard, his colleagues at the Times 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 suggested blind auditions be abandoned so race can be considered to assist in diversifying ensembles was met with "intense debate";[2][13] In New Music USA, Maia Jasper White noted that the idea received "heavy backlash".
[16] Tommasini is the author of Virgil Thomson: Composer on the Aisle,[17] which received the 1998 ASCAP-Deems Taylor Award, and Opera: A Critic's Guide to the 100 Most Important Works and the Best Recordings.
[20] Tommasini lives on Central Park West in Manhattan, New York City with his husband Ben McCommon, who is a psychiatrist.
[7] In 2022 he took up a teaching position at the Juilliard School's Extension Division, launching a new course, "Critical Listening with Anthony Tommasini".