Michael TIlson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony today announced their 2013-14 season, the American conductor’s 19th as SFS Music Director. 

The new season opens September 3, 2013 with MTT conducting the Orchestra in its annual Opening Gala, featuring an all-American program and guest soloist Audra McDonald. That same month, MTT and the SFS will give the West Coast premiere of Lineage by Zosha di Castri, the inaugural composer of New Voices – a collaborative composer development initiative with the San Francisco Symphony, New World Symphony and Boosey & Hawkes.

Also next season, MTT continues his multi-year focus on performing and recording Beethoven, with a three-week Beethoven and Bates festival that pairs some of Beethoven’s infrequently performed works alongside three recent compositions by Bay Area composer and electronica artist Mason Bates.

In celebration of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Benjamin Britten, MTT leads three weeks of concerts that include a new semi-staged production of Peter Grimes, and Four Sea Interludes with original co-commissioned video. MTT also conducts the Orchestra in major works by Antheil, Bartók, Berlioz, Brahms, Debussy, Ives, Steven Mackey, Mahler, Mozart, Prokofiev, Rachmaninoff and Schumann.

As part of next season’s events MTT will also lead the Orchestra on tours of Europe in March 2014 and the United States in November 2013, performing the music of contemporary and maverick American composers including John Adams, Aaron Copland, Charles Ives, and Steven Mackey alongside core classical repertoire by Mahler, Beethoven, Berlioz, Prokofiev and Mozart. In March 2014, MTT and the Orchestra perform two weeks of concerts in the musical capitals of Europe, visiting London, Paris and Vienna for two concerts each, as well as Prague, Geneva, Luxembourg, Dortmund and Birmingham.

Discover the entire 2013-14 season here.