MTT at… 60? Really?

The San Francisco Symphony’s charismatic and ever-youthful music director, Michael Tilson Thomas, turned 60 this weekend, incredible as it may seem, and used the occasion to mount a huge onstage party at Davies Symphony Hall. “Like a kid facing a coffee table stacked with big, glittery presents, Thomas raced through the evening’s program, eagerly unwrapping each musical offering… Even among conductors, a famously long-lived and resilient breed, Thomas has always had a preternaturally youthful and even boyish streak. Now, at 60, he seems to be combining that tireless energy and enthusiasm with the ever- deepening mastery that comes with age.”