Michael Tilson Thomas, the charismatic conductor and composer who won 12 Grammys and presided over the San Francisco Symphony for 25 years, the London Symphony Orchestra and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, has died. He was 81.
Tilson Thomas died Wednesday in his home in San Francisco of glioblastoma, it was announced on his website. He underwent brain surgery to remove a tumor in 2021 after being diagnosed with glioblastoma multiforme and announced the tumor had returned in February 2025.
Two months later, he conducted his final concert with the San Francisco Symphony.
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A pianist and protege of West Side Story composer Leonard Bernstein, Tilson Thomas was known for his energetic interpretations of Austria’s Gustav Mahler. He specialized in music from Russia and work by Americans George Gershwin and Aaron Copland as well.
The 2010 National Medal of Arts recipient
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