Gilbert Kaplan

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Gilbert Kaplan is widely considered one of the leading interpreters of Mahler's Second Symphony "Resurrection". He has led more than 50 orchestras in performances that drew wide acclaim including:

In United States: Los Angeles Philharmonic, St. Louis Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony (September 2002), National Symphony in Washington D.C. ( March 2004). In Europe: London Symphony, Philharmonia, Royal Philharmonic, NDR in Hamburg, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Bavarian State Opera in Munich, Philharmonic Orchestra of La Scala, Oslo Philharmonic, Stockholm Philharmonic, Finnish Radio Symphony, Prague Symphony, Budapest Symphony. In Middle East: Israel Philharmonic. In Russia: Kirov Opera, St. Petersburg Philharmonic, Russian National Orchestra, Moscow State Symphony.

In Asia-Pacific: China National Symphony in Beijing (premiere of Mahler's Second Symphony in China); Shanghai Symphony, New Japan Philharmonic, Melbourne Symphony.

In 1996, Mr. Kaplan became the first amateur conductor invited to perform at the prestigious Salzburg Festival, where he led the opening night concert. Time magazine reported that the event was “a triumph" that "shook the Grossesfestspielhaus to its granite foundations.”

Mr. Kaplan’s recording of Mahler's Second Symphony with the London Symphony Orchestra was selected as one of the Records of the Year by The New York Times and by German Television ZDF. It immediately appeared on the classical best-seller lists in the United States and in England, where it remained for almost two years, and reached the Number One position. With sales in excess of 175,000 copies, it has become the best-selling Mahler recording in history.

Mr. Kaplan has also recorded the Adagietto movement of Mahler's Fifth Symphony with the London Symphony Orchestra which was selected as one of the Records of the Year for 1992 by The Sunday Times of London. In addition, he served as Executive Producer of Mahler Plays Mahler, a recording of rare piano rolls Mahler made of his own compositions in 1905. These rolls are the only documents that exist of Mahler as a performer. Released in 1993, Mahler Plays Mahler appeared on the best-seller list in the United States and was awarded the Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik (Prize of the German Record Critics) in the Historic Category for the first quarter of 1994 and the 1995 Mahler Prize for historical recordings by the Toblach Festival.

Gilbert Kaplan is a member of the faculty of The Juilliard School (Evening Division) and has lectured widely on Mahler, at Harvard and Oxford Universities and at leading musical conservatories including the Eastman School of Music, the Royal Academy of Music (London) and Vienna Music Academy. His extensive writings on Mahler have appeared in publications ranging from London's musicological journal The Musical Times to The NewYork Times.

On radio, he served as the host of a 13-week Mahler series broadcast on 350 radio stations in the United States and currently serves as host of "Mad About Music" on public radio (WNYC FM), a celebrity classical music and interview program.

He is also the author and editor of the award-winning The Mahler Album, an illustrated biography with more than 300 photographs, paintings, drawings and sculptures of Mahler.

In 1984, Mr. Kaplan acquired Mahler's original autograph score of the Second Symphony and, through The Kaplan Foundation, a facsimile edition of this manuscript has been published. The Foundation also published, in 1992, a facsimile edition of the Adagietto movement from Mahler's Fifth Symphony. Mr. Kaplan served as Editor of both editions. In 1995, the Foundation published Mahler Discography (editor Péter Fülöp), a definitive guide to 1,168 recordings of Mahler's music.

Mr. Kaplan has commissioned research and other activities concerning Mahler and his music. In May 1997, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Mahler's appointment as Director, the Vienna State Opera unveiled a portrait of Mahler by R. B. Kitaj commissioned by Gilbert Kaplan. Aware that Mahler had created an arrangement for string orchestra of Franz Schubert's "Death and the Maiden" quartet, Mr. Kaplan commissioned a performing edition and presented the world premiere of this work with the American Symphony Orchestra in Carnegie Hall in 1984. The Schubert/Mahler arrangement, published by Josef Weinberger Ltd., has become part of the standard orchestral repertoire.

Mr. Kaplan is a recipient of many honors including an honorary degree of Doctor of Humanities from Westminster Choir College; the Concert Artists Guild Distinguished Service to the Arts Award and the George Eastman Medal for distinguished musical achievement from the Eastman School of Music.

Mr. Kaplan serves on the boards of many musical institutions including Carnegie Hall; WNYC, New York's public classical radio station; the South Bank Centre (Royal Festival Hall, London).