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Michael Tilson Thomas: Quick Facts

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Facts

Born December 21, 1944 • Los Angeles • California
Died April 22, 2026 (aged 81) • San Francisco • California
Awards And Honors National Medal of Arts (2009)

Photos

Conductor Michael Tilson Thomas leads the YouTube Symphony Orchestra, with musicians playing string and wind instruments at Sydney Opera House.
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James Levine
James Levine
American conductor and pianist
Schuller, Gunther
Gunther Schuller
American composer
André Previn.
André Previn
American composer and musician
Marvin Hamlisch seated at a grand piano, wearing glasses and a dark shirt, with orchestral instruments and music stands visible in the background.
Marvin Hamlisch
American composer, pianist, and conductor
Leonard Bernstein, wearing a dark suit and red pocket square, conducts with his right arm raised, baton in hand, in front of an orchestra in 1988.
Leonard Bernstein
American composer and conductor
Serge Koussevitzky.
Serge Koussevitzky
American conductor
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Erich Leinsdorf
American musician
Szell
George Szell
American musician
Rudolph Ganz.
Rudolph Ganz
American musician
Gabrilowitsch, Ossip
Ossip Gabrilowitsch
Russian pianist
Sergey Rachmaninoff in profile, seated at a piano, playing with both hands on the keys.
Sergey Rachmaninoff
Russian musician
Pierre Boulez
Pierre Boulez
French composer and conductor
Smetana
Bedřich Smetana
Bohemian composer
Barenboim, Daniel
Daniel Barenboim
Israeli musician and conductor
Nézet-Séguin, Yannick
Yannick Nézet-Séguin
Canadian conductor and pianist
Neville Marriner, on the cover of Mozart Overtures, released by EMI and Capitol Records, 1982.
Neville Marriner
British musician
Georg Solti
Georg Solti
British conductor
Bülow, Hans von
Hans von Bülow
German pianist and conductor
Karajan, 1968
Herbert von Karajan
Austrian conductor
Mstislav Rostropovich
Mstislav Rostropovich
Russian musician