Michael Tilson Thomas, the American conductor, pianist, composer and educator, has died at the age of 81. He died on April 22 at his home in San Francisco, several years after being diagnosed with glioblastoma.
Born in Los Angeles in 1944, Tilson Thomas emerged as one of the most prominent American conductors of his generation. His longest and most visible association was with the San Francisco Symphony, where he served as Music Director from 1995 until 2020 and later became Music Director Laureate. His career also included major roles with the London Symphony Orchestra, the Buffalo Philharmonic and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, as well as the founding of the New World Symphony in Miami Beach.
He studied at the University of Southern California, where Ingolf Dahl was an important teacher, and in his early years came into contact with figures such as Igor Stravinsky, Aaron Copland and Leonard Bernstein. Bernstein would remain a significant influence and mentor.
His conducting combined mainstream symphonic repertoire with a strong commitment to American music, and he was especially identified with composers such as Mahler, Charles Ives, Aaron Copland and George Gershwin. Alongside his work in the concert hall, he also became widely known as a musical communicator through televised projects, lectures, writing and his work with younger performers.
During his career, Tilson Thomas received 12 Grammy Awards and, in 2019, a Kennedy Center Honor. He announced in 2021 that he had been diagnosed with glioblastoma. In early 2025, he said the disease had returned, and later that year he gave his final performance in San Francisco.
He died less than two months after the death of his husband, Joshua Robison.
Top image: ©️ Brigitte-Lacombe