San Francisco Symphony’s beloved former music director Michael Tilson Thomas has died.
Symphony officials announced that the 81-year-old conductor, popularly known as MTT, died at his San Francisco home surrounded by family and friends on Wednesday following a brain cancer diagnosis in 2021 and subsequent surgery.
MTT’s last public conducting appearance in Davies Symphony Hall was on April 26, 2025 at an 80th birthday celebration concert. He led the symphony in Benjamin Britten’s “The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra,” a piece he conducted at the symphony’s gala performance in 1995, his first season as music director.
Famous for inventive programming, he championed new works and promoted them alongside classic pieces throughout his career.
During his 25 years at the helm from 1995-2020, MTT introduced innovations including SFS Media, a label releasing Grammy-winning recordings and Keeping Score, a music education program for youngsters. In 1987, he cofounded the New World Symphony, an academy in Florida that prepares postgraduate students of diverse backgrounds for leadership roles in classical music.
MTT made his first appearance with the San Francisco Symphony in 1974 when he was 29; during his 52-year relationship with the orchestra, he led nearly 1,800 concerts.
Born and raised in Los Angeles, MTT was a prodigy, working with Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copland and Igor Stravinsky as a young musician. In his 20s, he conducted the Boston Symphony Orchestra; he later led the Buffalo Philharmonic; was a guest conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic and principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra.
He also was a composer, winning Grammys for “From the Diary of Anne Frank,” “Meditations on Rilke,” and “You Come Here Often?” among his numerous accolades and honors. He made 150 recordings as a conductor, composer and pianist, which can be accessed on his website.
John Goldman, president of the symphony’s Board of Governors from 2001-12, said about MTT: “He was considered by many to be a legend, but at heart he was a caring soul, interested in exploring the unusual, learning something new, experiencing life to its fullest … I knew Michael for over 30 years, and I am certain that his legacy for the San Francisco Symphony, for our community, and for all lovers of music, will last in perpetuity. He changed the American orchestra, and we are fortunate that we celebrated his impact for these many years.”
MTT was married to Joshua Robison, his partner of nearly 50 years, who died in February.
In 2025, when he learned that his cancer returned, MTT withdrew from public life with the comment: “A coda is a musical element at the end of a composition that brings the whole piece to a conclusion. A coda can vary greatly in length. My life’s coda is generous and rich.”
The symphony will dedicate concerts in June featuring Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony to MTT. Plans for a concert in celebration of his life and lasting impact will be announced later.
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