It sucks growing old

[Slim Cognito]

[Volkonski]

Feeling old now.

When I started college in Boston in 1969 Erich Leinsdorf had just left as conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. The BSO brought in William Steinberg, then conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony, part-time to replace him while they looked for a new permanent conductor.

Steinberg's health was poor so many of the BSO concerts and recordings were conducted by the young assistant conductor, Michael Tilson Thomas. Normally young assistant conductors help prepare performances but they almost never actually conduct public performances.

So MTM found himself under the microscope of the critics and BSO fans very early in his career.

Many BSO fans were not happy about that state of affairs. Some of my fellow student BSO fans took to referring to MTM as "Tinsel Tonsils".

MTM survived.

News this week-

Michael Tilson Thomas Suffers from Confusion at London Symphony Orchestra

https://theviolinchannel.com/michael-ti ... orchestra/

Conductor Michael Tilson Thomas suffered from a bout of confusion during a recent performance of Mahler's Third Symphony with the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) at the Barbican. The 79-year-old conductor has been facing various health struggles: in 2021, he was diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer and underwent surgery to treat it.

Since that time, Tilson Thomas has scaled back his conducting activities. Recent engagements have included four concerts with the New York Philharmonic in March 2023 and a week of concerts with the San Francisco Symphony in early 2024.

On May 12, 2024, Tilson Thomas was leading Mahler 3 with the LSO, mezzo-soprano Alice Coote, and the combined forces of the Tiffin Boys' Choir with the women of the London Symphony Chorus. As reported in The Telegraph, Tilson Thomas got up from the podium partway through and closed his score, "telling the audience cheerily they’d been listening to an extended warm-up." He appeared to think that the performance was a rehearsal.

Coote, as well as some of the players of the orchestra, then gently reminded Tilson Thomas of his surroundings, and after a short delay, Tilson Thomas regrouped and returned to conduct the work's final movement. The performance concluded with a standing ovation.

[keith]

So MTM found himself under the microscope of the critics and BSO fans very early in his career.

Um who is "MTM"? Mary Tyler Moore is all I can think of, but darned if I can figure out what she has to do with conducting.

[neonzx]

So MTM found himself under the microscope of the critics and BSO fans very early in his career.

Um who is "MTM"? Mary Tyler Moore is all I can think of, but darned if I can figure out what she has to do with conducting.

I was confused also. "MTM" means what? Maybe something about mowers.

[sugar magnolia]

Maybe he meant MTT? Michael Thomas Tilson?

[pipistrelle]

Feeling old now.

News this week-

Michael Tilson Thomas Suffers from Confusion at London Symphony Orchestra

I remember when he was a bright young conductor.

[bill_g]

I'm sure Mr V meant MMTT - Maestro Michael Tilson Thomas

[Volkonski]

Maybe he meant MTT? Michael Thomas Tilson?

Yes.

[pipistrelle]

Maybe he meant MTT? Michael Thomas Tilson?

Yes.

I knew what you meant.

[John Thomas8]

The "getting old" anthem?

Stood there boldly, sweatin' in the Sun
Felt like a million, felt like number one
The height of summer, I'd never felt that strong
Like a rock

I was 18, didn't have a care
Working for peanuts, not a dime to spare
But I was lean and solid everywhere
Like a rock

My hands were steady, my eyes were clear and bright
My walk had purpose, my steps were quick and light
And I held firmly to what I felt was right
Like a rock

Like a rock, I was strong as I could be
Like a rock, nothin' ever got to me
Like a rock, I was something to see
Like a rock

And I stood arrow straight
Unencumbered by the weight of all these hustlers and their schemes
I stood proud, I stood tall
High above it all
I still believed in my dreams

20 40 years now, where'd they go?
20 40 years, I don't know
I sit and I wonder sometimes
Where they've gone

And sometimes late at night
Oh, when I'm bathed in the firelight
The moon comes callin' a ghostly white
And I recall, I recall

Like a rock, standin' arrow straight
Like a rock, chargin' from the gate
Like a rock, carryin' the weight
Like a rock

Oh, like a rock, the sun upon my skin
Like a rock, hard against the wind
Like a rock, I see myself again
Like a rock
Oh, like a rock

[bill_g]

(chortle) Seeger was feelin it twenty years after eighteen. Wonder how he's doin now?

He was one of Mrs girl crushes. Neil Diamond too. Every note, every word, she knew all his songs. Those were definitely salad days.