A WELCOME, HEARTFELT RETURN
With a resplendent silvery half-moon radiating over the City, you knew this would be a very special concert. Apprehension had been palpable as the recently retired music director Michael Tilson Thomas, turning 77 next month, underwent brain surgery to remove a tumor. Forced to cancel guest engagements with four orchestras, he made it back despite all adversity—a mite shaky, a mite cautious, but as confident and verbose as ever conducting the San Francisco Symphony. The instant he came on stage…