San Francisco Symphony

MTT with James Brown during a taping of The MTT Files, 2006

2007–08

INTERNATIONAL JUGGERNAUT

In year thirteen, Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony still have the capacity to surprise. Building on the global success of the SFS Media Mahler cycle and Keeping Score, MTT turns to radio for his next revolution in musical storytelling, The MTT Files. MTT and the Orchestra broaden their international profile still further with a tour of Europe’s most prestigious music festivals.

A Radio Revolution: The MTT Files

Just as MTT and the San Francisco Symphony explore new territory in the world of television and the internet with Keeping Score, the Symphony-produced The MTT Files capitalizes on MTT’s genius for connecting with audiences through the format of radio. This eight-part series features deep dives into some of MTT’s favorite composers and artists, including Stravinsky, Copland, Heifetz, and…James Brown. A longtime fan of the Godfather of Soul, MTT and Brown talk shop in a memorable episode that helps propel the Symphony towards its second Peabody Award in 2007.

When I was in music school, I was part of a crowd of adventurous young musicians. . . . One day, I heard this song, James Brown’s ‘Cold Sweat’. This music completely knocked me out. I wanted to share it with all my classical music colleagues. And it turned out all the hipper ones already knew the music. We were all amazed by the level of energy, the attacks, the precision, the syncopation, the wonderful empty spaces. The amazing singing. And the way you could use your ears to go down inside the music and explore all the amazing levels it had. In those years, we were playing Boulez and Stravinsky, but we were listening to James Brown. From the first day I heard James Brown’s music, I waited anxiously for each new song he would release. He became a hero of mine. ”

— Michael Tilson Thomas

Land of Hope and Glory: The BBC Proms and more

Flexing its muscles as a truly international orchestra, the San Francisco Symphony begins its 2007–08 season with a trip across the pond for MTT-led dates at the famed BBC Proms in London, and the summer music festivals of Edinburgh, Lucerne, Berlin, and Frankfurt (Rheingau). For an American orchestra to headline a Proms date is no mean feat and MTT and the Symphony make the most of it: the concert is filmed for a Keeping Score episode on Shostakovich, and is broadcast live on BBC television and radio. In addition to star turns by violinist Julia Fischer, soprano Deborah Voigt, and pianist Yefim Bronfman, the tour features some MTT specialties: works by Ives, John Adams, Ruth Crawford Seeger, and Copland.

MTT in rehearsal with Julia Fischer at the Lucerne Festival, 2007

SF Symphony Executive Director Brent Assink and MTT, 2007 European Festivals Tour

MTT backstage with Concertmaster Alexander Barantschik

Charles Ives’s Third Symphony, The Camp Meeting, opened the first of the San Francisco Symphony’s two Proms under Michael Tilson Thomas. . . .The thematic material is made up of hymn tunes — There Is a Happy Land, What a Friend We Have in Jesus, and the like — which give the piece its air of gentle nostalgia. But Ives cuts and pastes them in such unusual configurations that there is not a single bar that doesn't contain at least one surprise. The result, while charming, is never predictable. With their clean-cut playing and lucid textures, the San Francisco players gave it a dewy-eyed innocence, motivated by Thomas with care and sensitivity. ”

—

George Hall, The Guardian (UK), September 4, 2007

Renée Fleming performs at the SF Symphony’s 2007 Opening Gala concert

MTT conducts the SF Symphony

MUSICIAN APPOINTMENTS
Amos Yang (Assistant Principal Cello)
Russ deLuna (Oboe/English horn)
Carey Bell (Principal Clarinet)
Katie Kadarauch (Assistant Principal Viola)

CONDUCTING STAFF
Ragnar Bohlin (San Francisco Symphony Chorus Director)

PREMIERES
Xenakis: À l’Île de Gorée (US premiere)

Recordings

2007–08 Tours

The August-September 2007 European Festival Tour saw performances with soprano Deborah Voigt, violinist Julia Fischer, and pianist Yefim Bronfman.

Edinburgh, Scotland, Usher Hall
 EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL

London, England, Royal Albert Hall
 BBC PROMS

Hannover, Germany, Congresszentrum

Berlin, Germany, Philharmonie  
BERLINER FESTSPIELE

Cologne, Germany, Philharmonie

Düsseldorf, Germany, Tonhalle

Frankfurt, Germany, Alte Oper  
RHEINGAU FESTIVAL

Lucerne, Switzerland, Kultur und Kongresszentrum 
LUCERNE FESTIVAL

Soprano Deborah Voigt and violinist Gil Shaham were featured on the March 2008 National Tour.

New York, NY, Carnegie Hall  

New Brunswick, NJ, State Theatre Regional Arts Center

Ann Arbor, MI, Hill Auditorium, University of Michigan

Deborah Voigt, MTT, and the SF Symphony at Carnegie Hall

2007–08

A Radio Revolution: The MTT Files

Land of Hope and Glory: The BBC Proms and more

Recordings

2007–08 Tours

Tune in to KDFC at 3pm daily for “MTT Time”—special concert broadcasts from each year of MTT’s historic tenure, featuring commentary from MTT himself.