In earlier times, so many people sang much more. You know as a kid you'd go to some kind of religious training and or summer camp or whatever it was and you'd learn to sing a lot of songs. Michael Tilson Thomas campearlykid Change image and share on social
And at the same time, you are of course a performer, but it's very important that you understand that your role as a performer is to get the best performance from those wonderful colleagues that you have the chance to work with. Michael Tilson Thomas chancecolleagueimportant share on social
Earlier in my life, I performed a lot of music. Some of it because I felt it was a demonstration, or a representation of certain intellectual concepts that were very exciting and important. Michael Tilson Thomas conceptdemonstrationearly Change image and share on social
But some people will say you just did these programs. Well, yes, the programs are important and I'm proud of the programs, but mostly I'm proud of the way the San Francisco Symphony plays these programs. Michael Tilson Thomas franciscoimportantpeople share on social
Being a conductor is kind of a hybrid profession because most fundamentally, it is being someone who is a coach, a trainer, an editor, a director. Michael Tilson Thomas coachconductordirector Change image and share on social
And what classical music does best and must always do more, is to show this kind of transformation of moods, to show a very wide psychological voyage. And I think that's something that we as classical musicians have underestimated. Michael Tilson Thomas classicalkindmood share on social
But still as compared to many, many orchestras in the world, I think you find a lot more new music and living composers on our programs than many other places. Michael Tilson Thomas comparecomposerfind Change image and share on social
I think music needs to be presented in a way so that kids can grasp songs, dances, simple music that's associated with some particular defining moment in human experience. Michael Tilson Thomas dancedefineexperience Change image and share on social
I can't do pieces I only admire technically. I have to feel some direct contact with them. Michael Tilson Thomas admirecontactdirect Change image and share on social
