Boy Wonder, Michael Tilson Thomas, Turning 70

For those of you who grew up in the comic book/Saturday morning cartoons era, I am NOT talking about Batman's sidekick Robin - aka Boy Wonder.  I am speaking of Michael Tilson Thomas. For those of us who still wonder where Leonard Bernstein might have taken music had he lived even another 10 years, all one has to do is watch Thomas in action and look at the programs he selects to realize that the one-time Bernstein protege is an apple which did not fall far from the tree.  He is also one who, like his mentor, sees much value in focusing on one orchestra, rather than jetting around to do fly-by performances, then not show his face again for months at a time. In an age where conductors seem to be citizens without a country, Thomas has his feet firmly planted in San Francisco, where he is approaching his 20th anniversary as Music Director of the San Francisco Symphony.  His relationship with the orchestra goes back even further, having become a regular guest conductor some 20 years earlier. Does it make any difference that Thomas learned under Bernstein? I have asked musicians about the importance of the lineage of their instructors. Pianist Leon Fleisher, for example, told me  musical pedigree makes little difference.  That is easy to say when you have one as remarkable as his.  This is from his bio: "He was the youngest-ever student of the great Artur Schnabel, who studied with keyboard giant and pedagogue Theodor Leschetizky, a pupil of Carl Czerny, who in turn studied with Ludwig van Beethoven."  Not even 6 degrees of separation.  Thomas, in turn, has played a huge role in a generation of conductors...Alan Gilbert of the New York Philharmonic, Seattle Symphony Music Director Ludovic Morlot, and the blazing comet that is Gustavo Dudamel, Music Director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. While there is something to be said for the fresh perspective and energy provided by a visiting conductor, there is also an argument to be made it is more important for an orchestra to have a long term goal beyond just playing concerts.  You need look no further than Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony as exhibit 'A.' Read A Boyish Patriarch Leaps Over Boundaries (NY Times) Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Sym Still Coloring Outside The Lines (NY Classical Review)