Gilbert Kaplan has netted a number of firsts in his conducting career. “As well as being the first amateur to conduct the Vienna Philharmonic, Kaplan is also the conductor with the smallest repertoire in history.’ Mahler 2nd. “Now 61, he made his conducting debut at the age of 40 with Mahler Two” and he’s conducted it 100 times. Now “he is in Vienna for four days to make a recording of the work for Deutsche Grammophon with the orchestra that Mahler himself conducted.”