EVDOL 15 - Critical Listening with Anthony Tommasini

Anthony Tommasini
Understanding the technical inner workings of music can enhance one’s appreciation. But you don’t have to take a music theory class, or even be able to read music, to perceive and respond to the subtleties of a piece. Great music works in subliminal ways. In this course, Anthony Tommasini will guide listeners in how to listen to pieces—from short songs and piano pieces to whole symphonies and operas—with attention to critical details and components. The class will explore basic musical elements, like the nature of melody and the workings of counterpoint, as well as seemingly advanced techniques, like harmonic progression, motivic development, and atonal languages. Expect discussion of a wide range of composers, from Mozart to Messiaen, Schumann to Schoenberg, Bellini to Burt Bacharach—and more.

Biography: Anthony Tommasini was the chief classical music critic of The New York Times for 21 years, retiring in earlier this year. A pianist by training, he holds degrees from Yale University (BA), the Yale School of Music (MM), and Boston University (DMA). He is the author of four books, including The Indispensable Composers: A Personal Guide, published by Penguin Press in 2018. Prior to joining the Times in 1997, Tommasini covered classical music and theater for the Boston Globe. 

8 weeks

Thursdays 6–8pm ET

January 25–March 21

In Person Only

$600