Remembering symphony conductor Michael Tilson Thomas
5/1/202645 min
We remember conductor, composer and musician Michael Tilson Thomas, who died April 22 at age 81. He was a longtime music director of The San Francisco Symphony, known for his innovation, his ability to translate classical music for the general public, and for fostering contemporary music. He founded the New World Symphony for young players. He got his musical inheritance from his grandparents, who were stars of the Yiddish theatre. When he was a kid, his grandmother took him on stage and pointed up to the last row in the balcony, telling him: “Up there are the cheapest seats and in those seats are the people who love the show the most. Whatever you’re doing you must remember that it must reach those people.” He spoke with Terry Gross in 1994 and 2012.
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First 90 secondsBrittany Luse0:00
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David Bianculli· Host0:23
This is Fresh Air. I'm David Bianculli. Michael Tilson Thomas, the composer and conductor who presided over the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra for 25 years, died last week at age 81. He had battled brain cancer since 2022. The musical and social impact of Tilson Thomas ranged far beyond the podium. As an educator, he co-founded the New World Symphony in Miami Beach, a place for musicians to launch their careers. He composed and performed original works. As a TV host on PBS, he presented a 10-part, multi-year series about classical music, as well as a two-hour special about his own grandparents. And by being open in San Francisco about his half-century private relationship with his life partner, Tilson Thomas was an early and influential figure in the gay rights movement. Michael Tilson Thomas was born in Los Angeles in 1944 into an artistic family that stretched back for generations. His paternal grandparents, Boris and Bessie