Michael Tilson Thomas announced in February that he can no longer continue conducting – an art he has practiced to great acclaim throughout his entire adult life.
The news has left friends, fans, the wider music community and just about anyone who ever attended one of his concerts to experience a heartfelt wave of loss. Now Thomas, 81, who has been battling cancer since 2021, plans to make his final concert a belated 80th birthday celebration with the San Francisco Symphony on April 26 at Davies Symphony Hall.
The conductor, who served as the San Francisco Symphony’s music director for three decades, retired from his longtime post at the end of the 2019-20 season and is now the organization’s Music Director Laureate. He remains one of the most admired and accomplished artists the music world has ever known.
Thomas was first diagnosed in 2021 with a brain tumor described as a “terminal glioblastoma.” Even as the disease progressed, he has continued to work with characteristic drive, returning to the Symphony and other music organizations whenever possible.
In late February, though, Thomas announced that he had entered a new phase, saying, “Now is the time to wind down my public appearances.”
With the announcement, he said his last events would be concerts in Florida with Miami’s New World Symphony in March and April, and the San Francisco Symphony concert on April 26. The S.F. Symphony concert will feature works Bernstein, Britten, Debussy and selections from some of MTT’s own compositions.
Thomas’ work throughout his tenure in San Francisco was nothing short of brilliant; his live performances were always assured and often astonishing, combining mastery with a keen sense of adventure. His knowledge of music seems boundless, drawing thrilling results from rarities to the best-known works.
For those lucky enough to experience those performances at Davies Hall, even familiar music registered with the power of the new. In the American works especially close to the conductor’s heart — scores by Bernstein, Gershwin, and Stravinsky, among others — brought results that were second to none.
But his most celebrated undertaking was the Symphony’s years-long Mahler project. Conceived and produced by Thomas, the endeavor yielded a complete cycle of the composer’s symphonies, one that won awards and received universal acclaim from critics and fans alike.
Known to friends and fans as “MTT,” Thomas was born and raised in Los Angeles; his strongest influences came from the American Yiddish Theater, where his grandparents, Boris and Bessie Thomashefsky, were founding members.
At age 24, he joined the Boston Symphony. His renown only increased and was burnished in posts at the London and Boston symphonies and at the Los Angeles Philharmonic. In 1995, he was appointed music director of the San Francisco Symphony. A 12-time Grammy Award-winner, he is the recipient of the Kennedy Center Honor and the National Medal of Arts.
In San Francisco, he demonstrated again and again that music programs could be both thrilling and enlightening. In events such as his 2000 “American Mavericks” festival, he introduced with great enthusiasm composers including John Cage, Lou Harrison, Meredith Monk, Terry Riley, Edgard Varèse and others. Other performances of American works — such as the glittering semi-staged performance of Bernstein’s “On the Town” in 2016 — paid tribute to a mentor and friend.
In additional S.F. Symphony events, he welcomed a long line of top artists: composer John Adams, pianists Emanuel Ax, Yefim Bronfman, Jeremy Denk, and Yuja Wang; violinists Yo-Yo Ma, Anne-Sophie Mutter, and Gil Shaham, among many others.
The Mahler recordings represented an artistic high-water mark; with Thomas conducting the orchestra and vocal soloists including mezzo-soprano Susan Graham, tenor Stuart Skelton and baritone Thomas Hampson, the performances were universally acclaimed.
Under his leadership, the San Francisco Symphony released a number of his award-winning recordings; in addition to the Mahler series, there were albums of music by Berlioz, Copland, Gershwin, Ives, and Stravinsky.
Even in a worldwide lineup of guest conductors who appeared at Davies Hall over the seasons, Thomas brought a unique vision to the Symphony; one characterized by a free spirit whose brilliant insights into every aspect of music-making made him one of a kind.
He’s has been remarkably open about his condition, and his announcement explaining that he’s stepping away from performing has been met with a wave of sorrow by friends and followers. Knowing that his conducting days are over is an immeasurable loss; he simply can’t be replaced. But fans of MTT won’t let him be forgotten; in his absence, the music he made, and the memories we’ll keep, will live on.
Contact Georgia Rowe at growe@pacbell.net.
SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY
Celebrates Michael Tilson Thomas’ 80th birthday
When: 7:30 p.m. April 26
Where: Davies Symphony Hall, 201 Van Ness Ave., San Francisco
Guests: Conductor Teddy Abrams, performers Frederica von Stade, Sasha Cooke, and more
Tickets: $325 (limited availability) sfsymphony.org.