"They are representations of many shared hours of collaboration between us all. That's the real nature of the relationship the orchestra and I are trying to build"
About this Quote
Michael Tilson Thomas isn’t selling the fantasy of the maestro as solitary genius; he’s demoting himself to something closer to a lead collaborator. “Representations” is the key tell. He’s talking about performances, recordings, maybe even tours as artifacts, not miracles. The real product isn’t the shiny concert-night result but the invisible labor that produced it: rehearsal rooms, argued phrasing, negotiated tempi, the slow accretion of trust.
The line also quietly rewrites what a conductor-orchestra “relationship” is supposed to be. In the old mythology, the orchestra executes; the conductor interprets. Tilson Thomas flips that hierarchy by framing meaning as communal and time-based: “many shared hours.” It’s a defense of process in a culture that consumes orchestral music like a finished luxury good and treats leadership like branding. He’s insisting that the intimacy is earned, not declared.
There’s subtext here about institutional identity. Orchestras are increasingly asked to justify their relevance, their budgets, their very existence. By emphasizing collaboration, he positions the ensemble as a living civic organism rather than a museum for masterpieces. And he positions himself not as a guest who parachutes in with a concept, but as someone building a long-term sound and culture.
The phrasing “trying to build” is modest but strategic: relationships don’t arrive fully formed; they’re constructed. In a field obsessed with tradition and authority, that’s a modern, almost democratic idea of artistry.
The line also quietly rewrites what a conductor-orchestra “relationship” is supposed to be. In the old mythology, the orchestra executes; the conductor interprets. Tilson Thomas flips that hierarchy by framing meaning as communal and time-based: “many shared hours.” It’s a defense of process in a culture that consumes orchestral music like a finished luxury good and treats leadership like branding. He’s insisting that the intimacy is earned, not declared.
There’s subtext here about institutional identity. Orchestras are increasingly asked to justify their relevance, their budgets, their very existence. By emphasizing collaboration, he positions the ensemble as a living civic organism rather than a museum for masterpieces. And he positions himself not as a guest who parachutes in with a concept, but as someone building a long-term sound and culture.
The phrasing “trying to build” is modest but strategic: relationships don’t arrive fully formed; they’re constructed. In a field obsessed with tradition and authority, that’s a modern, almost democratic idea of artistry.
Quote Details
| Topic | Music |
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