Thomas, Michael Tilson (1944– )

US conductor and pianist. He was appointed principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra in 1988 and became music director of the San Francisco Symphony in 1995. He is an enthusiastic proponent of ‘authentic’ restorations of modern repertoire. He has made first recordings of Steve Reich's The Desert Music (1983), the complete symphonies of Charles Ives, and a reconstruction of George Gershwin's original Rhapsody in Blue.

Thomas was born in Hollywood, California. A precocious talent, he was thrust into fame at the age of 25 when as an assistant he took over a concert of the Boston Symphony from an ailing William Steinberg in 1969. He subsequently became principal guest conductor for the orchestra 1969–74. He went on to guest-conduct widely and led the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra 1971–79 and the London Symphony Orchestra in 1988. He has won several Grammy Awards for both his performances and his albums.