Michael Tilson Thomas to Replace Yannick Nezet-Seguin with Philadelphia Orchestra at Carnegie Hall, 12/6

Carnegie Hall today announced that conductor Michael Tilson Thomas has graciously agreed to step in for Yannick Nézet-Séguin, leading The Philadelphia Orchestra's performance in Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage this Friday, December 6 at 7:30 p.m. Mr. Nézet-Séguin has cancelled this appearance as well as concerts this week in Philadelphia on medical advice that he not travel for the next few weeks due to sinus-related problems. Pianist Hélène Grimaud is soloist for this performance; Brahms's Piano Concerto No. 1 will replace the previously-announced Brahms's Piano Concerto No. 2 at her request. The second half of the program, featuring Berlioz's Symphonie fantastique, remains as announced.

Yannick Nézet-Séguin and The Philadelphia Orchestra return to Carnegie Hall for concerts on February 3, 2014; February 21, 2014; and May 2, 2014.

Ticketholders with questions may contact CarnegieCharge at 212-247-7800.

Michael Tilson Thomas is music director of the San Francisco Symphony, founder and artistic director of the New World Symphony, and principal guest conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra. Born in Los Angeles, he is the third generation of his family to follow an artistic career. His grandparents, Boris and Bessie Thomashefsky, were founding members of the Yiddish Theater in America.

Mr. Tilson Thomas began his formal studies at the University of Southern California, where he studied piano with John Crown and conducting and composition with Ingolf Dahl. At age nineteen, he was named music director of the Young Musicians Foundation Debut Orchestra. During the same period, he was pianist and conductor for Gregor Piatigorsky and Jascha Heifetz.

In 1969, after winning the Koussevitzky Prize at Tanglewood, he was appointed assistant conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, later becoming principal guest conductor until 1974. He was music director of the Buffalo Philharmonic from 1971 to 1979, and a principal guest conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic from 1981 to 1985 and Principal Conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra from 1987 to 1995.

His recorded repertoire of more than 120 discs includes Gustav Mahler's complete orchestral works with the San Francisco Symphony. His television work includes a series with the London Symphony Orchestra for BBC, the television broadcasts of the New York Philharmonic Young People's Concerts from 1971 to 1977, and numerous productions on PBS's Great Performances. Mr. Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony produced a multi-tiered media project, Keeping Score, which includes a television series, web sites, radio programs, and programs in schools.

In February 1988, he inaugurated the New World Symphony, an orchestral academy for graduates of prestigious music programs. New World Symphony graduates have gone on to major positions in orchestras worldwide. In 2011, they opened a new campus designed by Frank Gehry.

His nineteen-year tenure as music director of the San Francisco Symphony has been broadly covered by the international press. With the San Francisco Symphony, he has made numerous tours of Europe, the United States, and the Far East.

Mr. Tilson Thomas is a Chevalier dans l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres of France and he has been chosen as Musical America's Musician of the Year and Conductor of the Year and Gramophone magazine's Artist of the Year. He has been profiled on CBS's 60 Minutes and ABC's Nightline. He has won thirteen Grammy Awards for his recordings. In 2008, he received the Peabody Award for his radio series for SFS Media, The MTT Files. In 2010, President Obama awarded him with the National Medal of Arts, the highest award given to artists by the United States government.