Michael Tilson Thomas

American conductor, pianist and composer

Michael Tilson Thomas (December 21, 1944 – April 22, 2026) was an American conductor, composer, pianist and music pedagogue. He was music director of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra from 1971 to 1979. He founded the New World Symphony, an American orchestral academy in Miami Beach, Florida, in 1987, serving as artistic director until 2022 and then as artistic director laureate. Thomas was principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra from 1988 to 1995, and then music director of the San Francisco Symphony until 2020. He conducted a wide repertoire of music, with a focus on the works by Gustav Mahler and of contemporary American music; he was the first to record some works by Aaron Copland, Charles Ives, and Steve Reich. Thomas appeared on television in the Young People's Concerts with the New York Philharmonic and hosted the Keeping Score series. He collaborated with popular artists including Elvis Costello and Metallica.

His compositions include From the Diary of Anne Frank (1990), Shówa/Shoáh (1995) for the 50th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima, Poems of Emily Dickinson (2002), and Meditations on Rilke (2019). He was the subject of the American Masters documentary Michael Tilson Thomas: Where Now Is.

Read more about this composer on Wikipedia.

Works

From the Diary of Anne Frank
From the Diary of Anne Frank, Pt. 1: "I hope I shall be able to confide..."
From the Diary of Anne Frank, Pt. 1: "It's an odd idea..."
From the Diary of Anne Frank, Pt. 1: "There is a saying..."
From the Diary of Anne Frank, Pt. 1: Instrumental Intro
From the Diary of Anne Frank, Pt. 2: "Daddy began to tell us..."
From the Diary of Anne Frank, Pt. 2: "Dear Kitty. So much has happened..."
From the Diary of Anne Frank, Pt. 2: "I feel wicked sleeping in a warm bed..."
From the Diary of Anne Frank, Pt. 2: Instrumental
From the Diary of Anne Frank, Pt. 3: "Dear Kitty!!!..."
From the Diary of Anne Frank, Pt. 3: "Do you gather a bit of what I mean?..."
From the Diary of Anne Frank, Pt. 3: "I believe that it's spring..."
From the Diary of Anne Frank, Pt. 3: "I want to go on living..."
Meditations on Rilke
Meditations on Rilke: Das Lied des Trinkers
Meditations on Rilke: Herbst
Meditations on Rilke: Herbsttag
Meditations on Rilke: Ich lebe mein Leben in wachsenden Ringen
Meditations on Rilke: Imaginärer Lebenslauf
Meditations on Rilke: Immer wieder
Street Song
Street Song for Brass Quintet - Live at Verbier Festival, 2016
Street Song: I. Slow
Street Song: II. Relaxed
Street Song: III. Moderate swing
You Come Here Often?