 |
Posted on 01/02/2016 4:01:03 PM PST by EveningStar
Gilbert Kaplan, who has died aged 74, was an American economist, journalist and businessman who came to wider attention through his determination to be an orchestral conductor and in particular his obsession with Gustav Mahler's Symphony No 2 (the Resurrection), a work that he conducted on more than 100 occasions.
Some saw him as a charlatan, a Wall Street millionaire who had "bought" his way on to the podium with his lavish donations to impecunious orchestras. Others felt that he offered a fresh insight into the music, unsullied by a traditional approach to interpretation and the institutionalised training of the conservatoire system.
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
ping
I never heard his Mahler 2nd. Did you? If so, what did you think of it?
I’m not a big Mahler fan, but glad to hear the story of a true multi-disciplined genius.
I'm guessing ... and this is just a guess ... that it came somewhere between Maher's 1st and Mahler's 3rd.
/sarc
Happy New Year and may 2016 be slightly less egregious than 2015!
I loved him on Welcome Back, Kotter.
You did not address me, but I will give my thoughts nonetheless. I like Kaplan's Mahler 2. Like Kaplan, I am kind of a nut about the piece and have a gazillion recordings of it. I held off listening to it for decades, because I did consider Kaplan something of a fake. I think the only reason I ever heard it was because I wanted an SACD version of the symphony, and bought his version with the Vienna Philharmonic mainly for its sonics. I ended up liking the performance a lot, and eventually bought his London Symphony version (his more famous version).
As critic David Hurwitz said, there is no reason to hung up on the fact that Kaplan was not a 'born' conductor. He took lessons to learn to conduct, and in that respect could be compared to Sir Thomas Beechum. He certainly brought a passion for the work, which is more than can be said of many who have conducted it. Kaplan is not my 'go-to' conductor for the work, but I do respect what he did.
When it comes to Mahler, I would recommend Leonard Bernstein.
Interesting.
|
Lenny was great. Politically a crazy leftist, but musically he was absolutely wonderful - a treasure.
I saw the Mahler 2nd live only once. It was conducted by Lenny pupil, Carl St.Clair. He observed a three minute break between the first and second movements, partially following Mahler’s recommend five minutes.
Thank you. :)
Meh. There are so many great Mahler recordings I don’t know why one would choose a hobbyist conductor.
Whuz happening...Mr Kotter...oh...wait...
Of course, unlike Kaplan, Beecham conducted many complete works - not just one.
Thank you for intelligent, thoughtful observations.
It was a quick reply on my iPad. I hate typing on this thing. No, Kaplan was no Beechum, and was not really comparable to conductors who conducted many works; but he did study conducting so he could do the Mahler 2. IMO the great conductors really shape the music and make the listening experience unique. It's why I have so many versions of all Mahler's symphonies. However, Kaplan did do well on both his recordings IMO. His VPO version was the first recording of the final revised score. Kaplan would not be my first choice in the work, but he did well under the circumstances. I do like the VPO SACD for the sonics and the playing of the VPO.
I tend to agree. I just received today Lenny's recording of Mahler 9 with the BPO, which is the one LB Mahler recording !'ve never heard. I think I like his 60s recording of Mahler 2 with the NY Phil is the best, but the later live one on DG is also great (with better soloists).
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.