Cast & creator
Michael Tilson Thomas
Best known for Great Performances, Great Performances, Great Performances
Michael Tilson Thomas (December 21, 1944 – April 22, 2026) was an American conductor, composer and pianist. He was artistic director laureate of the New World Symphony, an American orchestral academy in Miami Beach, Florida, music director laureate of the San Francisco Symphony, and conductor laureate of the London Symphony Orchestra. He gave his final performance with the San Francisco Symphony in April 2025 while fighting brain cancer.
Also known as: MTT
25
film credits
9
television credits
25
1971–2020 · acting roles
7.8
average across scored titles
Signature credits
Known for
Across film & television
Filmography (34)
Showing 34 of 34 credits
Great Performances
Self
1971Great Performances
Music Director
1971Great Performances
Conductor
1971Great Performances
Orchestrator
1971
Soundbreaking
Self
2016
The Rhythm of Life
1997
Masterclass
Self
2010
Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story
Self
2018
Metallica and San Francisco Symphony: S&M2
Self
2019
Carnival of the Animals
Self - Conductor
1976Carnival of the Animals
Conductor
1976
Leonard Bernstein Centennial Celebration at Tanglewood
Self - Conductor
2018
John Adams: A Portrait and A Concert of Modern American Music
Self
2000Michael Tilson Thomas: The Thomashefskys
2012
Keeping Score
Self – Host
2004Keeping Score
Creator
2004Rehearsing a Dream
Self
2006Steve Reich: A New Musical Language
Self
1987
Keeping Score: Mahler Origins
Narrator
2011
On the Town
Conductor
1993Keeping Score: Mahler Legacy
Narrator
2011London Symphony Orchestra: Shostakovich 5
2015
Keeping Score - Mahler Origins and Legacy
Conductor
2011
Michael Tilson Thomas: Where Now Is
2020
Keeping Score: Beethoven's Eroica
2006Keeping Score: Beethoven's Eroica
Conductor
2006
Keeping Score: Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 4
2004Keeping Score: Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 4
Conductor
2004
Bad Boy Made Good: The Revival of George Antheil's 1924 Ballet Mécanique
Self - Conductor
2003
Keeping Score - Hector Berlioz Symphonie fantastique
2009Keeping Score - Hector Berlioz Symphonie fantastique
Director
2009
Keeping Score: Shostakovich Symphony No. 5
2009
Keeping Score: Stravinsky's Rite of Spring
2006Keeping Score: Stravinsky Rite of Spring
Narrator
2006