Conductor, economist and radio host Gilbert Kaplan died early Friday, his producer Heidi Bryson confirmed.
For more than a decade, Kaplan interviewed famous people about their love for classical music on Mad About Music, which aired on WNYC and WQXR until 2012, when it went into into national syndication.
Kaplan traveled the world conducting his favorite work, Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 2.
Kaplan, who was 74, also served on the WNYC board of trustees.