Gould's Goldberg Variations
From Glenn Gould Plays Bach:
"Gould established an instant reputation as a Bach specialist, and with good reason. A half-century earlier Wanda Landowska had rescued Bach from romanticized high-calorie orchestrations and bloated keyboard adaptations by playing his works on the harpsichord with dignity and humanism. Her records remain deeply moving, but it was Gould who went further to foster a genuine love and passion for Bach. His style was precise, his rhythms were crisp and the clarity of his counterpoint was underlined by avoiding the blurred pedal effects typical of other pianists. The result was deeply respectful of the inherent values of the source, yet vibrant and exciting. Over the next 25 years, Gould recorded nearly all the other Bach keyboard solos. They enthralled many, repelled some, but, most important, stimulated discussion and renewed interest in a neglected genius."
Glenn Gould Weird and Wondrous
Gould approaching the instrument:
On Gould leaving the concert environment:
"Let us imagine for a moment that we are in the audience at one of the concerts that established Glenn Gould's international reputation in 1955 – we immediately know that we are dealing with the foremost pianist of the century. Such an assertion, however, does not mean very much, because what he is bringing lies in an altogether different and elevated sphere. His kingdom does not belong in the same world. By deserting a few years later, at the age of 32 and at the peak of fame according to a carefully premeditated plan which nobody believed he would follow, the bloodthirsty arena of public concerts, to confine his activity to the hermetically sealed privacy of the recording studio, Glenn Gould was assigning a new role to the interpreter and defining a new concept of interpretation. Concert audiences seldom have a clear idea of what a concert artist's career represents. What they perceive as a unique occasion is often not much more than an act of routine which ensnares in their own trap those who commit themselves to it. The preservation of artistic and emotional integrity, despite the easy and deceptive seduction of power which success seems to bring about, is hardly ever the preoccupation of artists whose lives are made up of intrigue, rivalry, comparison and tiresome repetitiveness."
Gould's evening routine:
"Ray (Roberts) must have been amused by his friend's daily routine, which rarely varied. If Glenn wasn't at the microphone late into the night, he sat up editing or writing until the wee small hours. The apartment, like the cottage, was always messy. Ketchup bottles, Arrowroot cookie boxes, empty milk cartons, records, pens, newspapers, books, hotel keys, clothes, pads of foolscap - the minutiae of his life littered the place. If he wasn't working he doodled on scraps of paper, played words games, solved puzzles, or made up lists of questions about subjects of interest to him. Every night around 11:00 p.m., Glenn picked up the phone and called whoever came to mind. The phone was Glenn's link to the world, and it cost him hundreds of dollars monthly. 'I live by long distance,' he said."
Gould playing Bach's Goldberg Variations (aria and some canons) - 1964:
"Gould established an instant reputation as a Bach specialist, and with good reason. A half-century earlier Wanda Landowska had rescued Bach from romanticized high-calorie orchestrations and bloated keyboard adaptations by playing his works on the harpsichord with dignity and humanism. Her records remain deeply moving, but it was Gould who went further to foster a genuine love and passion for Bach. His style was precise, his rhythms were crisp and the clarity of his counterpoint was underlined by avoiding the blurred pedal effects typical of other pianists. The result was deeply respectful of the inherent values of the source, yet vibrant and exciting. Over the next 25 years, Gould recorded nearly all the other Bach keyboard solos. They enthralled many, repelled some, but, most important, stimulated discussion and renewed interest in a neglected genius."
Glenn Gould Weird and Wondrous
Gould approaching the instrument:
On Gould leaving the concert environment:
"Let us imagine for a moment that we are in the audience at one of the concerts that established Glenn Gould's international reputation in 1955 – we immediately know that we are dealing with the foremost pianist of the century. Such an assertion, however, does not mean very much, because what he is bringing lies in an altogether different and elevated sphere. His kingdom does not belong in the same world. By deserting a few years later, at the age of 32 and at the peak of fame according to a carefully premeditated plan which nobody believed he would follow, the bloodthirsty arena of public concerts, to confine his activity to the hermetically sealed privacy of the recording studio, Glenn Gould was assigning a new role to the interpreter and defining a new concept of interpretation. Concert audiences seldom have a clear idea of what a concert artist's career represents. What they perceive as a unique occasion is often not much more than an act of routine which ensnares in their own trap those who commit themselves to it. The preservation of artistic and emotional integrity, despite the easy and deceptive seduction of power which success seems to bring about, is hardly ever the preoccupation of artists whose lives are made up of intrigue, rivalry, comparison and tiresome repetitiveness."
Gould's evening routine:
"Ray (Roberts) must have been amused by his friend's daily routine, which rarely varied. If Glenn wasn't at the microphone late into the night, he sat up editing or writing until the wee small hours. The apartment, like the cottage, was always messy. Ketchup bottles, Arrowroot cookie boxes, empty milk cartons, records, pens, newspapers, books, hotel keys, clothes, pads of foolscap - the minutiae of his life littered the place. If he wasn't working he doodled on scraps of paper, played words games, solved puzzles, or made up lists of questions about subjects of interest to him. Every night around 11:00 p.m., Glenn picked up the phone and called whoever came to mind. The phone was Glenn's link to the world, and it cost him hundreds of dollars monthly. 'I live by long distance,' he said."
Gould playing Bach's Goldberg Variations (aria and some canons) - 1964:
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