The MTT files
Justin Davidson (standing in for Alex Ross) covers the upcoming American Public Media radio show, The MTT Files. (Where MTT = Michael Tilson Thomas.)
Rather than leading listeners on a dutiful trudge through history, MTT tells stories of the “I remember when Stravinsky told me…” variety. Like any accomplished raconteur, he has buffed each memory to a blinding sheen of significance, poignancy, or wry humor — or all three. He has a well-stocked storehouse of anecdotes, but if I can recognize some of them from the half a dozen hours I have spent interviewing him over the course of ten years, I suspect his close friends have his stories cataloged and numbered by now.
I once had the pleasure of seeing MTT do an intro talk to John Adams’ Harmoniliehre…he’s an incredible speaker / storyteller, so I’m really looking forward to this show.