Metallica pays tribute to late conductor and 'S&M2' collaborator Michael Tilson Thomas

Metallica musicians Lars Ulrich (left), James Hetfield (right), and the SF Symphony music director Michael Tilson Thomas (center) speak on stage after it was announced that they would be the first performers at the Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., o Metallica's Lars Ulrich and James Hetfield, and Michael Tilson Thomas (center) speak on stage on Monday March 18, 2019. (Gabrielle Lurie/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images) (San Francisco Chronicle/Hearst N/Hearst Newspapers via Getty Imag)

Metallica has shared a tribute to late conductor Michael Tilson Thomas, who passed away on Wednesday.

The metal legends had collaborated with Thomas on their 2019 S&M2 concerts, which featured them performing alongside the Thomas-conducted San Francisco Symphony.

"It is with great sadness that we learned of the passing of legendary conductor Michael Tilson Thomas," Metallica writes in a Facebook post. "A towering figure in classical music, many of you became familiar with the man known as MTT when he worked with us as a major driving force in the development and live performances of the S&M2 shows in San Francisco in September of 2019."

"We cherished our time with MTT and learned so much working with him to prepare the S&M2 performances," the post continues. "It was a very high honor to have him on the podium for our shows. He will be sorely missed."

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