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 a large symphony orchestra basically is a repertory company and it has a very enormous repertoire and it is important for the performers to be able to know how to shift focus so that they instantly become part of the sound world that a particular repertoire demands. Michael Tilson Thomas basicallycompanydemand share on social
But without the experience of actually singing or playing these things yourself, you don't have the same kind of involvement or understanding of what these musical moves mean. And that is a very big problem in addressing the future of music. Michael Tilson Thomas addressbigexperience 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
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
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
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
But those musics do not address the larger kind of architecture in time that classical music does, whatever each one of us knows that classical music must mean. Michael Tilson Thomas addressarchitectureclassical Change image and share on social
You know, they were returning to the language of the people and trying to use musical language, particularly as Copland did to create a musical language in which all Americans would feel that they had a stake. Michael Tilson Thomas americancoplandcreate share on social
The whole path of American music has been so much about the recognition of stylistic diversity, and the recognition of the importance of music which was from one of the vernacular traditions. Michael Tilson Thomas americandiversityimportance Change image and share on social
