Battling cancer, famed Jewish conductor Michael Tilson Thomas prepares for his last concert - Jewish Telegraphic Agency

Battling cancer, famed Jewish conductor Michael Tilson Thomas prepares for his last concert - Jewish Telegraphic Agency

Half a century ago, in the fall of 1969, Michael Tilson Thomas — a promising, young conductor and scion of Yiddish theater royalty — lifted his baton for his New York debut with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, where he had recently been appointed assistant conductor and pianist. In one of those rare unscripted moments, Tilson Thomas was tapped to take the place of William Steinberg, the orchestra’s music director, who had fallen sick mid-concert.…

Battling cancer, famed Jewish conductor Michael Tilson Thomas prepares for his last concert

Half a century ago, in the fall of 1969, Michael Tilson Thomas — a promising, young conductor and scion of Yiddish theater royalty — lifted his baton for his New York debut with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, where he had…