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Gilbert Kaplan

A publisher by profession, Gilbert Kaplan founded Institutional Investor in 1967 when he was 25. Starting with a circulation of 18,000 in the United States, the magazine’s circulation grew to over 150,000 in 140 countries. During Kaplan's tenure as editor-in-chief, Institutional Investor received 43 awards for distinguished financial journalism, including the National Magazine Award for reporting – the only business magazine ever to win this honor.

Kaplan has also had a parallel career in music. In 1997, Kaplan served as the host of a 13-week Mahler series broadcast on WNYC Radio and 350 radio stations in the United States. He is a leading authority on Mahler and is the author and editor of The Mahler Album (Abrams), an illustrated biography with more than 300 photographs, paintings, drawings and sculptures of the composer. His extensive writings on Mahler have appeared in publications ranging from London's musicological journal The Musical Times to The New York Times. Kaplan is a member of the faculty of The Juilliard School (Evening Division) and has lectured at Harvard and Oxford Universities and at leading musical conservatories, including the Royal Academy of Music (London), Eastman School of Music and the Vienna Music Academy.

Kaplan is also one of the foremost interpreters of Mahler's Second Symphony (Resurrection). His debut public concert in 1983 in Carnegie Hall with the American Symphony Orchestra was selected by the New York Daily News as one of the top 10 musical events of the year and as "one of the best performances ever heard" of the symphony. He was soon invited by orchestras around the world to conduct the Resurrection Symphony in performances that drew wide acclaim.

The New York Times selected Kaplan's recording of Mahler's Second Symphony with the London Symphony Orchestra as one of its Records of the Year in 1988. It immediately appeared on classical best-seller lists in the United States and in England, where it remained for almost two years, reaching the No. 1 position. With sales in excess of 180,000 copies, it has become the best-selling Mahler recording in history. A new recording of the same symphony with Kaplan leading the Vienna Philharmonic was recently released on the Deutsche Grammophon label.

Since his conducting debut, Kaplan has led more than 50 orchestras, including the Vienna Philharmonic, the London Symphony Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, the New Japan Philharmonic, the Philharmonic Orchestra of La Scala in Milan, the Kirov Opera Orchestra in St. Petersburg, and the China National Symphony Orchestra, where he conducted the Beijing premiere of Mahler's Second Symphony. In 1996, Kaplan conducted the opening concert of the prestigious Salzburg Festival, which Time magazine reported as "a triumph" that "shook the Grossesfestspielhaus to its granite foundations."

Kaplan is a recipient of many honors, including an honorary degree of Doctor of Humanities from Westminster Choir College and the George Eastman Medal for distinguished musical achievement from the Eastman School of Music. He serves on the boards of numerous musical institutions, including Carnegie Hall, WNYC Radio, the South Bank Centre (Royal Festival Hall) in London and the visiting Committee to the Department of Music at Harvard University.

Shows:

• Mad About Music