Michael Tilson Thomas to Conduct NY Phil's Opening Subscription Concert

Tilson Thomas, who is 79, has scaled back his conducting activities following a cancer diagnosis in 2021

Conductor Michael Tilson Thomas will lead the New York Philharmonic in their opening subscription concert of the 2024/25 season. 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.

The program runs from September 12 to 15, 2024, and features Mozart's Piano Concerto no. 14 with soloist Emmanuel Ax — as well as Mahler's Symphony no. 5. Tickets are available here.

The New York Philharmonic is spending the next two seasons without a permanent Music Director, following the resignation of Jaap van Zweden. Gustavo Dudamel will step into the post for the 2026/27 season, once he has completed his current contract with the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

Dudamel will appear for three weeks of subscription concerts this coming season (one in March 2025 and two in May 2025). These programs include the world premiere of a work written and sung by Kate Soper, as well as Philip Glass’s Symphony no. 11 and Mahler’s Symphony no. 7.

Other conductors featured in the 2024/25 season include Ken-David Masur, Manfred Honeck, Herbert Blomstedt, and Juanjo Mena.