Randolph Magri-Overend

STRAIGHTLACED BUSINESSMAN BECOMES FLAMBOYANT CONDUCTOR : GILBERT KAPLAN

The great German composer Gustav Mahler

I can’t remember exactly when I first heard Mahler’s 2nd Symphony.  It was in the early 1980s and I was then very enthralled by Mahler’s other major work Das Lied von der Erde and, in particular, Dietrich Fischer-Diskau’s rendition of Der Abschied.  In fact, I was driving a cab at the time and I kept playing a cassette recording of the movement over and over again.  Some of the passengers liked it (a minority), most were indifferent and some commented on it – unfavourably!  One passenger who encouraged me was a lawyer I used to carry from Seaforth to the city on a daily basis and he suggested I should listen to Mahler’s 2nd symphony.  I forgot about it until I was asked to write an article on Leonard Bernstein and I went hunting for a comprehensive list of his recordings.  I came across his recording of the 2nd with the London Symphony Orchestra and Sheila Armstrong and Dame Janet Baker as the soloists.  I was not impressed.

Gradually as I began to read about this exceptional symphony I began to realise I was missing out on one of music’s major innovative works and so I began to scour the record shops for as many recordings as I could find.  I found all the great conductors in the world had participated and the energy they generated in those recordings was truly amazing.  Sir Simon Rattle admitted in one recording that when he first heard the 2nd symphony it inspired him to take up conducting; Leonard Bernstein said that whenever he conducted Mahler he felt as if he was writing the score himself.  I even have a recording of Simone Young conducting the Hamburg Philharmonic (Mahler’s alma-mater) – but then I had to go overseas for that!  

Then there is Gilbert Edmund Kaplan.  Kaplan, who died in 2016 aged 74, started life as an economist and branched off into publishing an investor magazine that he sold for around $75 million in 1984.  He loved Mahler’s 2nd Symphony to the point that in 1981 he asked to be taught how to conduct it.  This led to him renting Avery Fisher Hall in 1982 and conducting the work with the American Symphony and the Westminster Symphonic Choir.  Thereafter Kaplan conducted over 100 live performances throughout the world.  

Kaplan released two albums of himself conducting the symphony.  The first was in 1996 with the London Symphony Orchestra and the second in 2003 with the Vienna Philharmonic.  Both were funded by the Kaplan Foundation of New York so it seems plausible to assume that they were probably financed by Kaplan himself.  Still it is no mean feat to stand in front of a vast orchestra and commit to posterity your impressions of this massive work. 

The 1996 recording is interesting.  It is a  two CD album that includes Kaplan conducting the Adagietto from Mahler’s Symphony No 5 (which he composed as a musical love letter to Alma Schindler shortly before their marriage) and a recording of the piano rolls with Mahler himself playing (amongst others) the first movement of the 5th Symphony and the last movement of the Fourth.  Also included is a section where musicians who had an association with Mahler recall what he was like conducting, his behaviour during rehearsals plus the personal memories of his daughter, Anna.  In addition there is a facsimile of the opening of each movement from the original score and a reproduction of the complete 1897 edition of the score plus more than 100 letters by Mahler about how he composed the symphony and his association with the symphony.  

Of interest to historians is a CD-ROM that opens with a 5 year-old Gustav being terrified (or so we’re told) of having his picture taken.  Only after the photographer took his own picture did Mahler allow his picture to be taken.  Mahler insisted on being photographed holding a sheet of music – a portent of the future!  The collection of 151 images, paintings and drawings span the years 1865 till Mahler’s death in 1911.  The pictures trace his student days, his years at Budapest, Hamburg and Vienna where he conducted at the Court Opera for the best part of 10 years.  They also include his voyage to New York, his years at the Metropolitan Opera and his final years as musical director of the New York Philharmonic.

Kaplan’s interpretation of Mahler’s second varies.  A reviewer wrote of him: “Every gesture had purpose and impact.”  An orchestra player’s perspective isn’t as charitable: “His continued appearances are also an affront to all real conductors who have toiled relentlessly for the recognition they duly deserve.”

Especially when you realise that Kaplan never charged for his times on the podium!

Featured : Gilbert Edmund Kaplan conducting Mahler’s 2nd Symphony

 

 

 

Published by Randolph Magri-Overend

One of the questions Randolph hates to answer is “Where do you come from?” Why? Because the answer can be so time-consuming and, in a way, also gives away how old he is!! Plus the questioner has to wrestle with the wish he hadn’t asked the question!! He was born in Cairo, Egypt, many moons ago of British parents although he can trace Maltese and Croatian ancestry in his lineage. Educated in a Jesuit college in London his wander lust for things unorthodox drove him to embark on a seafaring career with both Canadian Pacific Steamships and Shaw Savill. That in itself dates him because both lines have been redundant for many a year. One of his boasts is that he was the Purser on the “Gothic” which ten years previously had been Queen Elizabeth II’s Royal Yacht soon after her coronation in 1953. One of the objects imported on the ship by HM and left behind was a tape player which Randolph utilised on many a memorable Sunday evening with a classical concert for his passengers. Thus began a journey that not only awakened Randolph’s love for good music but also eventually led to his extensive knowledge of music in all forms. That he loves the era of Sinatra, Crosby, Armstrong, Dorsey (both) and many many more exponents of the post-war music scene is also part and parcel of his appreciation of the music of many an era. These days Randolph is retired but still reviews CDs and DVDs and has written articles on such diverse personalities as Yvonne Kenny, Teddy Tahu Rhodes, Alexander Briger, the late Sir John Tavener, Sir James Galway, Dawn Upshaw and countless probes into the music of Gustav Mahler, Elizabeth Shwarzkopf and her husband Walter Legge, Glenn Gould, Leonard Bernstein and many many more he regrets to admit he has lost track of! Before emigrating to Australia, Randolph spent a number of years as a Flight Dispatcher in Canada. Since arriving in Australia, Randolph has written for The Weekend Australian (especially in their travel pages), The Sydney Morning Herald, Opera Opera and Fine Music magazine as well as some jazz magazines. If you require an extensive coverage of your music to a public that, at last count, reaches the best part of 818,000 please contact David Kary on editor.sydneyartsguide@gmail.com or email me directly on ibmar@bigpond.com. This also includes advertising any forthcoming shows by promoting featured artists. Cheers and thank you.

One comment

  1. Im Jahre 1996 dirigierte Kaplan in der Hamburger Michaelis-Kirche wieder die 2. Mahler. Bevor er den Taktstock hob, drehte er sich zum Publikum und erklärte diese Aufführung zum Andenken an Izhak Rabin, der gerade ermordet worden war. Am darauffolgenden Tag fand eine zweite Aufführung in der Lübecker MUK statt. Noch im ersten Satz bahnten sich plötzlich zwei NDR-Mitarbeiter durch das Orchester zum Pult des Dirigenten, der sichtlich irritiert war und ließ den Taktstock sinken. Daraufhin verstummte das Orchester. Eine NDR-Mitarbeiterin wandte sich an der Publikum und verkündete, daß “wegen einer technischen Störung” alle den Saal unverzüglich verlassen sollten, was auch schnell und stumm geschah. Das Orchester verließ das Podium mitsamt ihren Instrumenten. Eine anonyme Bombendrohung war eingegangen und in aller Eile waren Polizei mit meheren Spürhunden erstaunlich schnell zur Stelle. Alle begaben sich in das nahegelegene Hotel um abzuwarten, wie es weitergehen sollte. Aber nach einer Stunde wurde das Konzert abgesagt und ist nie wiederholt worden.

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