UPDATE: Sam Bergman weighs in with his take on the situation, along with some helpful facts to clear up some misconceptions about the hiring of conductors. He also notes that the NY Phil did not attempt (it seems) to muzzle one of its musicians breaking silence on his blog – which, for me as a musician in an orchestra who blogs, is gratifying to see.
It was only a matter of time – the backlash against Gilbert Kaplan, the rich amateur conductor who only conducts one work: Mahler’s 2nd Symphony. The irony is that this critique didn’t come from the esteemed pen of a New York Times critic, but from the keyboard of one pissed-off New York Philharmonic trombonist. I don’t think that I’d have the cahones to write something like this out in the open, but it has clearly brought the discussion out in to the open. Here’s a snippet of the complete post:
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.
Ouch!
Today the New York Times (as seems to be the case with a lot of print journals these days) took a look at the blog entry above and decided that there might be something to it (as well as word of an angry hour-long meeting between the musicians and NYP management regarding Kaplan’s engagement with the orchestra).