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London Orchestras in San Francisco, New York

Janos Gereben on August 12, 2014
MTT's 70th birthday to be marked
MTT's 70th birthday to be marked

Michael Tilson Thomas and the London Symphony Orchestra (his third orchestra after San Francisco Symphony and New World), will make their first appearance in two decades in New York, participating in the 49th season of Lincoln Center’s Great Performers series, which will run from November through May, 2015.

Jane Moss, the series' Ehrenkranz Artistic Director, also announced appearances by Riccardo Chailly with the Gewandhaus Orchestra of Leipzig, Yannick Nézet-Séguin with the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, and Iván Fischer with the Budapest Festival Orchestra, also featuring performances by Natalie Dessay, Simon Keenlyside, Joshua Bell, and Emanuel Ax.

During the preceding White Light Festival, which begins on Oct. 7, the Berlin Philharmonic performs the the Peter Sellars-directed St. Matthew Passion.

Closer at hand in time and location, another great ensemble from England, the London Philharmonic, is appearing in San Francisco Oct. 12-13, performing two concerts in Davies Symphony Hall, under the baton of Vladimir Jurowski, featuring Jean-Efflam Bavouzet in the Rachmaninov Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini) and Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 3.

Then, next March, LSO returns to Davies Hall to honor MTT, performing under his direction the Four Sea Interludes from Britten's Peter Grimes, Shostakovich's Piano Concerto No. 1 (with Yuja Wang), and Sibelius' Symphony No. 2. MTT-LSO will be on an international tour, celebrating the conductor's 70th birthday on Dec. 21.