Michael Tilson Thomas returns to the London Symphony Orchestra, where he was Music Director for eight years and currently holds the position of Principal Guest Conductor, for six concerts in the first half of 2012. His first four concerts of the season explore the works of the French impressionist composer Claude Debussy.

On January 24, he leads the orchestra in composer’s Fantasy for Piano and Orchestra, with Nelson Freire as soloist, and hisSelected Preludes as orchestrated by Colin Matthews. Also on the program for this concert is a well-known work by another Frenchman, Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique. On January 31, MTT joins the LSO Chamber Ensemble as pianist and conductor in an evening dedicated to chamber works by Debussy. For his final Debussy-focused program, MTT conducts the LSO in performances of La Mer, Oliver Knussen’s orchestration of Debussy’s Last Pieces (War Pieces), and Robin Holloway’s orchestration of En Blac et Noir. Swedish mezzo-soprano Anne Sofie von Otter joins MTT and the LSO for the evening, which also features Kurt Weill’s Seven Deadly Sins.  Tilson Thomas’ final concerts of with the LSO during the 2011-12 season, which take place on May 27, 31, and June 3, feature music by Mahler, Mozart, Beethoven and Berg.