Unmasking An Incompetent Conductor

Critics seem to love Gilbert Kaplan, the wealthy businessman-turned conductor who specializes in leading Mahler’s 2nd Symphony (and ONLY Mahler’s 2nd Symphony.) But you can count the New York Philharmonic unimpressed: “The day of the concert, the players demanded a meeting with Zarin Mehta, the orchestra’s president, and complained about Mr. Kaplan’s conducting for an hour.” And one trombonist wrote a blistering blog post blasting Kaplan’s weak skills.