by Mike Telin
Since winning the Koussevitzky Prize at Tanglewood in 1969, conductor Michael Tilson Thomas’ celebrated career has been well documented. His relationship with The Cleveland Orchestra dates back to August of 1974, when he led two programs at Blossom Music Center. He made his Severance Hall debut in November of 1978 — his most recent appearance was in March of 2018.
On Thursday, February 20 at 7:30 pm, Michael Tilson Thomas will return to the Severance Hall podium to lead performances of Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique as well as his own Meditations on Rilke, featuring mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke and bass-baritone Dashon Burton. The program will be repeated on Friday and Saturday at 8:00 pm and Sunday at 3:00 pm. Tickets are available online.
“I recently heard Cleveland give a staggeringly virtuoso performance of Mahler 5 and I’m eager to make some great music with them,” Thomas said by telephone from Miami, where he founded the New World Symphony in 1987 and serves as its artistic director. [Read more…]
The San Francisco Symphony played to a packed house in Severance Hall Saturday, showcasing their adventurous programming and daring emotionalism. At the cusp of turning 70 (who could believe it!), longtime San Francisco music director Michael Tilson Thomas (known as MTT in the Bay Area) gleefully presided over a pre-Thanksgiving feast of sound. 