We are saddened to hear the news of the passing of conductor Michael Tilson Thomas. Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this difficult time of loss.
Thomas had a rich, decades-long association with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. The musicians and administration of the BSO have been privileged to have maintained such a close relationship with Michael as conductor, pianist, composer, and impresario, dating from his debut leading the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra as a Conducting Fellow in July 1968. In 1969, after winning the Koussevitzky Prize at Tanglewood, Michael was appointed assistant conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. That year he also made his New York debut with the BSO, gaining international recognition when he replaced Music Director William Steinberg mid-concert. The widely acclaimed performance by the then-24-year-old catapulted his career; New York Times classical music critic Harold C. Schonberg noted: “[Thomas] had his golden opportunity and made the most of it. … A tall, thin young man, he came on stage with an air of immense confidence and authority and showed that his confidence was not misplaced.”
Michael went on to serve as the BSO’s Associate Conductor (1970-73), then, with Colin Davis, as Principal Guest Conductor through the 1975 Tanglewood season. Even after his music director appointments to the Buffalo Philharmonic and San Francisco Symphony, he remained a frequent collaborator with the BSO and Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra dozens of times over four decades both at Symphony Hall and at Tanglewood. In 2009 he presented his musical family memoir, The Tomashefskys: Music and Memories of a Life in the Yiddish Theater at Tanglewood. He also recorded works ranging from Tchaikovsky to Charles Ives with the orchestra.
Thomas’ most recent performances with the BSO were in the 2018 and 2022 Tanglewood seasons. In August 2018, he led the orchestra in two concerts: his own Agnegram and music by Rachmaninoff and Mahler, followed later that month with works by Bernstein and Copland as part of the special Bernstein Centennial Celebration. He last appeared with the BSO in August 2022, conducting two memorable programs, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, as well as Copland’s Third Symphony, Rachmaninoff’s Third Piano Concerto (with pianist Alexander Malofeev), and Rimsky-Korsakov's Dubinushka.
We will miss Michael’s extraordinary presence and eloquence, though his memory will live on for generations through his legacy of recordings and music-making at the highest levels.
-
1968-1969
Conducting Student at Tanglewood
Wins the Koussevitzky Prize in conducting (1968)
Conducts the world premiere performance of Elephant Steps by Stanley Silverman at Tanglewood (8/7/1968)
-
1969
Appointed BSO Assistant Conductor
Makes his BSO conducting debut on 10/10/1969, at Symphony Hall, leading the BSO in performances of works by Hayden, Ives, Stravinsky, and Debussy
MTT’s first collaboration with the BSO on a recording project takes place on 11/24/1969 when he is the piano soloist in a performance of Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite, conducted by Seiji Ozawa and issued by RCA (LSC 3167)
-
October 22, 1969
MTT Steps in at Intermission
During a BSO performance at Philharmonic Hall in New York, BSO Music Director William Steinberg is taken to the hospital during intermission after complaining of extreme fatigue. MTT conducts the remainder of the concert, including Robert Starer’s Concerto for Violin, Cello and Orchestra and Richard Strauss’s Till Eulenspiegel. Thomas fills in for Steinberg for the remainder of the BSO’s New York trip. Reviewing the concert in the New York Times, Harold C. Schonberg observes, “A tall, thin young man, he came on stage with an air of immense confidence and authority and showed that his confidence was not misplaced.”
-
1970
Appointed BSO Associate Conductor
Leads the BSO in its first recording session for the Deutsche Grammophon label, and the first for a non-American company. This is also the BSO’s first recording of music by Charles Ives.
-
1971
-Conducts the U.S. premiere of Edison Denisov’s Concerto for Flute, Oboe, Piano and Percussion
-MTT inaugurates a new series of unusual and imaginative programs for BSO audiences – called the Spectrum Series – designed to attract new audiences as well as seasoned concertgoers
-
1972
Appointed BSO Principal Guest Conductor
Conducts the world premiere of Walter Piston’s Concerto for Flute with BSO Principle Flute Doriot Anthony Dwyer (9/22/1972)
-
1973
Conducts the U.S. premiere of Ravel’s orchestration of Robert Schumann’s Carnaval (11/29/1973)
-
1974
Conducts the world premiere of Oliver Knussen’s Symphony No. 3 (1/24/1974)
Conducts the world premiere of William Schuman’s Concerto on Old English Rounds for viola, women’s chorus and orchestra (11/29/1974)
-
August 25, 1988
Participates in the Bernstein at 70! at Tanglewood
-
2009
Presents The Thomashefskys: Music and Memories of a Life in the Yiddish Theater with the BSO at Tanglewood (8/19-20/2009)
-
August 25, 2018
Participates in the Leonard Bernstein Centennial Concert at Tanglewood
-
August 28, 2022
Last Appearance Conducting the BSO
MTT's last appearance with the BSO takes place at Tanglewood, when he conducts a performance of Charles Ives, Psalm 90 and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9
