Catch Me (Him) If You Can
I
enjoy collecting movies on DVD. One of my favorites is the feature movie “Catch
Me If You Can.” It is a true story from the 1960’s, of a young man, Frank
Abagnale played by Leonardo Dicaprio, who manages to impersonate a doctor, a
lawyer, an airline pilot and in the process also becomes a masterful
counterfeiter. His expertise in the latter allows him to cash bad checks in
excess of four million dollars. FBI agent, Carl Hanratty, portrayed by no less
than Tom Hanks, chases him throughout the world. Of course, the Feds get their
man and our protagonist turns his talents to helping law enforcement to catch
similar crooks and thieves. In the end, the villain is repentant and the public
and law officials are left somewhat less naive. A happy ending of sorts.
Impersonators,
alas, still seem to rise to the surface. I contend that the story of another
impersonator is continuing to be written. It is the story of Gilbert Kaplan.
Mr. Kaplan is a self-professed scholar and conductor of Mahler’s great second
symphony, The
Resurrection.
While admittedly, I may be stretching the comparison beyond the breaking point,
Mr. Kaplan and Frank Abagnale are and were, in my opinion, both impostors.
I have
come to this conclusion from first hand experience. On December 8, 2008, Mr.
Kaplan took the podium in front of the New York Philharmonic. My colleagues and
I gave what we could to this rudderless performance but the evening proved to
be nothing more than a simplistic reading of a very wonderful piece of music.
There
can be no other conclusion. To say that it was something more is to be ignorant
of the many truly inspired performances under the batons of some of the world’s
great conductors. This masterpiece has had a century of interpretations that
have delved into all aspects of Mr. Mahler’s brilliant score. The list of
quality performances led by professional conductors is long. From Arturo T. to
Zubin M., the admirers of this work can find solace in many recordings that
contain true passion and an understanding of the symphony.
Having
not previously heard either of Mr. Kaplan’s two recordings of the symphony, nor
having seen him conduct, I came to our rehearsals with an open mind. My initial
impression was that Mr. Kaplan displays an arrogance and self-delusion that is
off-putting. As a conductor, he can best be described as a very poor beater of
time who far too often is unable to keep the ensemble together and allows most
tempo transitions to fall where they may. His direction lacks few indications
of dynamic control or balance and there is absolutely no attempt to give
phrases any requisite shape. In
rehearsal, he admitted to our orchestra that he is not capable of keeping a
steady tempo and that he would have to depend on us for any stability in that
department. Considering his Everest-sized ego, this admission must have caused
him great consternation upon reflection. Mahler’s wonderful use of the off
stage brass in the fifth movement gave Kaplan much tribulation. One would think
that after more than fifty performances of the work, even the most plebeian of
conductors would have some understanding of how to bring together musicians
that are separated by great distance. In the performance, these haunting
moments of the symphony slipped away like some wayward musical slinky.
I have
to take extreme exception to the many reviews I have read of his performances.
Some critics have written that he brings the finest details of the work to the
surface. If his past performances were anything like ours, Mr. Kaplan excels in
ignoring the blizzard of Mahler's performance direction.
Yet,
he sold out the house. “Or should I say, Mahler sold out the house?” It seems
that this work, regardless of whoever takes the podium, never fails to attract
a large audience, an obvious testimony to the strength of the composition. Mr.
Kaplan’s attempts seem to embody the proof that a mediocre performance is still
worth the price of admission. But do most audience members, and seemingly most
critics for that matter, really understand that he comes to the podium unable
to bring to the surface any of Mahler's darkness, pensiveness, and
schizophrenia?
Members
of symphony orchestras truly have an unfair advantage over their audience. The
musicians sit through countless rehearsals of a composition and are able to
witness the culmination of careful, skillful study of a score combined with the
conductor’s ability to communicate his or her ideas clearly. At its best, the
preparation of any great composition for concert should always be a profound,
intimate and introspective journey shared between the interpreter and the
instrumentalist. This is the intent of the composer and should never be
compromised. When musicians are denied that journey, they feel cheated,
marginalized and estranged from what they hold so dear.
Mr.
Kaplan and his assault on conducting leave many musicians angry, bewildered and
befuddled. I submit that Mr. Kaplan has succeeded in drawing an audience
because of the wide popularity of Mahler’s great symphony and our culture’s
intrinsic want to see someone break down barriers that have remained seemingly
impenetrable. The Cinderella story is one of our favorites; Arnold
Schwarzenegger is just one such case. This Hollywood movie idol pushed aside
many "professional" politicians to become governor of one of the
largest states of our country. The actor Ronald Reagan, the golfer Bobby Jones,
the starlet discovered in a coffee shop, the prizefighter who sends the
reigning champ to the mat, the American hockey team beating the Russians in the
Olympics in 1980 and, of course, David and Goliath - the list could go on and
on with underdogs or amateurs who have "beat the odds". More
recently, John McCain and Sarah Palin would have liked to join the ranks of famous
long shots but, alas, the collective wisdom deemed them unqualified. All
professions have their way of culling the crowd.
But
the Kaplan/Mahler Symphony No. 2 myth has a different twist. There is no giant
to push aside. No champion to dethrone. Mr. Kaplan did not have to beat,
win or even draw any gold medalist. With careful marketing, money and
influence, this no-talent, self-proclaimed Mahler expert has made his way to
the front of many of the world's leading orchestras relying totally on their
collective talents and experience to pad his conducting résumé. Orchestra
management after orchestra management has been complicit in perpetuating his
woefully sad farce. At the end of the day, his worth to classical music has
been totally overstated.
A word
to all musicians: I maintain that we must take some of the responsibility in
the blame for this predicament.
All
artists must educate their audiences and their managements. We have failed to
convince the powers that be how important it is always to put the most
qualified conductors on the rostrum. If this had been clear to the managements
of symphony orchestras, this man, regardless of how much money he is willing to
throw at our feet, would never have taken a step on what should be hallowed
ground. We owe it to ourselves, our public, and in this case, Mr. Mahler.
Much has
been written about Mr. Kaplan’s passion for Mahler’s great symphony as if this
emotion is unique to him. This assertion is an insult to all professional
musicians who have dedicated their entire lives and have sacrificed much toward
the preservation of all the great works of history’s finest composers. His
continued appearances are also an affront to all “real” conductors who have
toiled relentlessly for the recognition they duly deserve.
In
conclusion, there is no Carl Hanratty who will scour the planet to save us and
the public from another fraudulent performance of this masterpiece and it is
unlikely that we will ever witness a repentant Mr. Kaplan. We can rely only on
ourselves to stand firm against any attempts to promote this imposter. In the
end, we will need help to catch him if we can.
