Yiddish Roots And
An Ear For The Offbeat
athed in a golden light, donning his trade-
mark collarless shirt and looking like a studlier
version of Barry Manilow, the visage of Michael
Tilson Thomas -loomed over the city of San
Francisco last year — on billboards, kiosks, and street
flags — like some heralded healer.
And, at times, it seems as though that's the role
Tilson Thomas, the 51-year-old conductor of the San
Francisco Symphony, seeks to fill: assuaging the
masses with a musical balm and encouraging their
psychic renewal via Debussy or Stravinsky.
If all this sounds melodramatic, well, that's the
style that mTr (as he's been dubbed) has cultivated.
A musical protege often compared to his mentor and
friend, the late composer/conductor Leonard Bern-
stein, Tilson Thomas' ascent to the helm of one of the
country's finest orchestras this past fall has done for
classical music, in some respects, what Michael Jor-
dan did for Gatorade: it's made it cool. Or perhaps
just a little more intriguing to those who've never ven-
tured a taste.
The great-great-grandson of Russian cantors, the
grandson of Yiddish Theater composer and actor Boris
Thomashevsky and son of parents who continued as
leaders of the Yiddish Theater, the American-born
Tilson Thomas brings a theatrical intensity to his
performance as well as his conversation.
"I've grown up in the environment of people who
were dreamers and were compelled to turn their
dreams about the big world into some kind of musi-
cal or theatrical expression," he explains on a pro-
motional videotape.
That heritage taught him the importance of em-
bracing both "high art" and "low art" aspects in mu-
sic, especially the 20th-century American musical
repertoire, which Tilson Thomas champions: works
by Carl Ruggles, Ives, Copland and Gershwin, for ex-
ample.
Tilson Thomas' Jewish roots turn up often in his
performances. He began his season with the San
B
Francisco Symphony with Schoenberg's Survivor From
Warsaw for Narrator, Men's Chorus and Orchestra. And,
last spring, MTT continued a series of concerts on behalf
of UNICEF with a performance of his own work, From
the Diary of Anne Frank, with narration by actress De-
bra Winger.
But MTT's musical complexity extends well beyond
his own background. For the past 37 years, he has
brought to the podium an enormous talent for in-
spiring musicians and audiences alike. In 1969 at
the age of 24, Tilson Thomas won the coveted Kous-
sevitsky Prize at Tanglewood and went on to become
LI, assistant conductor of the Boston Symphony Or-
chestra and later principal guest conductor of the
BSO. From 1971 to 1979, he acted as music direc-
tor of the Buffalo Philharmonic, and in 1987 accept-
.- ed the post of principal guest conductor of the London
Symphony Orchestra, a flagging artistic ship which
he redeemed in a matter of seasons.
In 1987, Tilson Thomas
Michael Tilson Thomas' visit to
the University Musical Society founded the New World
is his first since 1988, when he
conducted the Pittsburgh
Symphony in that year's May
Festival with Russian emigre
pianist Vladimir Feltsman as
the soloist.
Symphony, a training
ground for conservatory
graduates, and he contin-
ues as its artistic director.
The list of his achieve-
ments, appointments and
guest conductorships goes on and on.
Tonight's audience can expect, at the very least, a
symphonic experience that pushes the bounds of what
it's used to.
"Classical music can get bogged down in trying to
do things, quote, the right way, unquote," Tilson
Thomas says. "That's not the way I work at all
though. I work a lot more by instinct... (with) a more
chance-taking approach."
—Liz Stevens
Et The San Francisco Symphony, with conductor
Michael Tilson Thomas, performs Copland's Sym
phonic Ode and Mahler's Symphony No. 5 at 8 p.m.
tonight, March 15, in Hill Auditorium, 825 N. Uni-
versity, Ann Arbor. Tickets run from $16 to $42.
(313) 764-2538 or (800) 221-1229.
This Week's Best Bets
Alvin Ailey American
Dance Theater
The celebrated modern dance
;roupe presents a new ballet by
f ri.-
' tat . 5 8 p In 5
Sun . 5 2 p m a
mi
90
•
krti.stic Director Judith Jamison,
imong other works. Music Ha l l ,
3etroit. Tickets: $22.50-$35.
313) 963-2366.
Collective Soul
The alternative rock band joins
Rust for a show at the State The-
atre in Detroit. Tickets:
$17.50/advance. (810) 645-6666.
Fri 5 7. • p.m.
Fiddler on the Roof
Shrine Circus
Torch Song Trilogy
The classic musical about Jew-
ish life in the shtetl continues
lies its
three-week run at Oakland Uni-
versity's Department of Music,
Theatre and Dance, Rochester,
Tickets: $10. (810) 370-3013.
Featuring animal trainer Tarzan
Serbini, elephants, horses, acro-
bats and the whole shebang. At
the State Fair Coliseum, begin-
ning Friday. Tickets: $6-$14.
(810) 353-9777.
JET wraps up the extended run
of Harvey Fiersteires play, the
story of a gay Jewish man
Fri . .-Sat.
-Sat . 5 8 p a m s . 5
Sun . 5 2 p a m a
,
Fri., 7
Marc 31
• il 5
Sat.8
5 p ■in■
Sun., 2 & 7 p.m.
searching for acceptance. Aaron
DeRoy Theatre, J CC West
Bloomeld.
fi
Tickets: $11-$22.
(810) 788-290Q.
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