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Michael Tilson Thomas Quotes

Powerful Michael Tilson Thomas for Daily Growth

About Michael Tilson Thomas

Michael Tilson Thomas (MTT), born on January 21, 1944, in Los Angeles, California, is a renowned American conductor, pianist, and music educator. Known for his versatility and charismatic style, he has significantly contributed to the classical music world. Raised in a family with strong musical roots – his grandfather was a composer, his father a violinist, and his mother an opera singer – it's no surprise that MTT developed an early love for music. He began studying piano at age five, and by ten, he had composed his first symphony. After graduating from Harvard University in 1965 with a degree in English literature, MTT decided to pursue a career in music instead. He studied conducting under Hans Swarovsky in Vienna and Leonard Bernstein in New York City. In 1970, MTT founded the Young Men's and Young Women's Orchestras of San Francisco, fostering musical talent among young people from diverse backgrounds. The following year, he made his conducting debut with the San Francisco Symphony (SFS) as a guest conductor, and in 1974, he was appointed Music Director, a position he held until 1985. MTT returned to the SFS in 1995 as Music Director for Life. Under his leadership, the orchestra has grown both musically and geographically, with notable collaborations including John Adams' "Doctor Atomic" and Mahler's complete symphonies. In addition to his work with the SFS, MTT has been Music Director of the New World Symphony (NWS) in Miami Beach since 1987, where he focuses on nurturing young musicians for careers in classical music. He has also served as Principal Guest Conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra and the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Throughout his career, MTT has been honored with numerous awards, including 10 Grammy Awards. His unique approach to conducting and commitment to music education continue to inspire a new generation of musicians.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"Music is a language that doesn't speak in particular words. It speaks in emotions, and if it's interpreted and inside you, you understand this emotion."

This quote by Michael Tilson Thomas suggests that music is not just a collection of notes or sounds, but rather an expression of feelings and emotions. The beauty of music lies in its ability to transcend words and communicate on a deeper, more intuitive level. When one truly understands and feels the music, it resonates emotionally within them, creating a unique connection between the listener and the composer.

"The role of a conductor is not to tell everyone else what they are playing – it's to tell the orchestra what we are doing together."

This quote by Michael Tilson Thomas emphasizes that a conductor's role goes beyond individual instrument instructions. Instead, he sets the vision for how the entire ensemble should collaborate to achieve a harmonious performance. The conductor serves as a unifying force, guiding the orchestra towards a shared goal of creating beautiful music together.

"There is no such thing as failure, only successes and lessons learned."

This quote suggests that every experience, regardless of its outcome, can be a stepping stone towards success or an opportunity to learn. It encourages the belief that there's no permanent state of failure but instead progression through experiences. Embracing this perspective can help individuals develop resilience and perseverance, fostering growth and personal development.

"Music is an adventure, and a lifelong adventure at that."

This quote by Michael Tilson Thomas emphasizes that music is not just a momentary experience but a long-term journey. It suggests that engaging with music involves exploration, discovery, and continuous growth - much like an adventure. Just as adventures can enrich our lives and broaden our perspectives, so too does the lifelong pursuit of music bring us new experiences, emotions, and insights.

"The act of conducting is an attempt to create an invisible architecture with sound."

Michael Tilson Thomas' quote emphasizes that conducting music is not merely about leading an orchestra, but rather creating a sonic structure that mirrors the intricate design of an architectural blueprint. This "invisible architecture" is built using rhythm, melody, harmony, dynamics, and tempo to weave together a cohesive and captivating musical experience for the audience. In essence, conducting is the art of shaping sound into a tangible yet immaterial construction that resonates emotionally and intellectually.

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

Think, Some, Needs, Defining

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

Larger, Address, Each One, Musics

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

Been, Importance, Which, Stylistic

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

Shift, Part, Very, Repertory

Conductors are performers.

- Michael Tilson Thomas

Performers, Conductors

But you know in the contemporary art world, you pose a very interesting conundrum. All sorts of people collect very contemporary art, yet when it comes to the music which is analogous to that sort of art, they are not interested, or perhaps even hostile.

- Michael Tilson Thomas

Very, Hostile, Art World, Contemporary Art

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

Summer Camp, Some, Religious, Camp

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

Some, Francisco, San, Symphony

When I first was conducting as guest conductor in Europe 25 years ago, I would propose doing American pieces and grudgingly it would be accepted from time to time.

- Michael Tilson Thomas

American, Doing, Accepted, From Time To Time

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

Kind, Profession, Editor, Conductor

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

Think, Always, Very, Classical Music

It's kind of scary sometimes, I've seen this a lot in Asia. Children are given music lessons, very intensively I might add and involving great technical expertise sometimes, but you can tell that they have been told only to play happy pleasant music.

- Michael Tilson Thomas

Play, Been, Very, Lessons

But if I can be convinced and then through the work that we do together, the orchestra can really be convinced of the big sweep of that communication that the piece suggests, then the audience will get it and it will be a good experience for all of us.

- Michael Tilson Thomas

Big, Through, Sweep, Orchestra

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

Think, New, Still, Orchestra

They are representations of many shared hours of collaboration between us all. That's the real nature of the relationship the orchestra and I are trying to build.

- Michael Tilson Thomas

Nature, Hours, Shared, Orchestra

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

Big, Very, Addressing, Big Problem

Extreme volume in music very often disguises a lack of actually important content.

- Michael Tilson Thomas

Important, Volume, Actually, Extreme

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

My Life, Some, Very, Representation

I can't do pieces I only admire technically. I have to feel some direct contact with them.

- Michael Tilson Thomas

Pieces, Some, Contact, Technically

The first year I started in San Francisco, there was an American work on every program and there's been a lot of music by living composers and gradually that was part of the process of getting the audience really to trust me.

- Michael Tilson Thomas

Trust, Been, Francisco, Gradually

Being an American musician means being adventurous.

- Michael Tilson Thomas

American, Adventurous, Means, Musician

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

Which, All Americans, Stake

If we are able to get inside the music and inhabit it convincingly enough, it will cause everyone to find each other in this new psychological space. And that's most exciting.

- Michael Tilson Thomas

New, Other, Psychological, Inhabit

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

Performer, Role, Very, Colleagues

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