Glenn Gould

[The new erato]

September 2012



The September issue of Gramophone is now on sale, in which we celebrate the life and legacy of Glenn Gould, a pianist whose remarkable musicianship and bold challenging of conventions caught the zeitgeist and elevated him into an iconic cultural figure of wide significance. We talk to people – including leading musicians and producers – who knew him, to find out what he was really like and why he still matters, and illustrate the feature with some fascinating archive photographs from across his career.

Pretty ceertainly not related to Sonys massive GG rereleases this month?

My respect for The Gramophone seems to dwindle with each new issue. I would like to know how much Sony paid for this.

[kishnevi]

Pretty ceertainly not related to Sonys massive GG rereleases this month?

My respect for The Gramophone seems to dwindle with each new issue. I would like to know how much Sony paid for this.

They wouldn't necessarily have to pay Gramophone anything.  It's an industry magazine as much as a magazine aimed at consumers, and if one of the [air quotes]major[/air quotes] labels is doing a major push for a group of re-re-releases, it would make sense for them to cover it.  The fact that Sony advertises with them is no doubt a consideration, of course....

In the Mahler anniversary year, they did a cover story about Mahler conductors, which turned out to be much of nothing.  That's the only issue I've ever bought.

[Wakefield]

I like Gould.

Depending on the interpretation, I even like him very much. But all this superlative language about him is a bit tiring.

It's as if constantly were necessary to affirm the supposed incomparable genius of Gould. Maybe Premont is right and this is a sort of religion. 

[Sammy]

I like Gould.

Depending on the interpretation, I even like him very much. But all this superlative language about him is a bit tiring.

Yes, the repetition is annoying.

[Leon]

I enjoy Gould's playing and especially appreciate his repertoire, which is selective but spans several periods.  That said, there is nothing played by him that I don't prefer performed by other pianists, but do find his playing very interesting and enlightening.  However, there are a few things played by him which I absolutely cannot stand to listen to, e.g. his Mozart sonatas.  Aside from Bach,  I think his Brahms is some of his best stuff.

There is a cult of personality surrounding him which I find tedious but ultimately harmless.  I attempt to completely avoid his own utterances and try to ignore those by his fans as well.

[Sammy]

I enjoy Gould's playing and especially appreciate his repertoire, which is selective but spans several periods.  That said, there is nothing played by him that I don't prefer performed by other pianists, but do find his playing very interesting and enlightening. 

There are quite a few of Gould's recorded performances that I consider at the top of the mountain.  Foremost in my mind is his recording of the keyboard Partitas, especially No. 4 in D major.

[Herman]

The creative dynamic that drove Glenn Gould throughout his life was expressed through avalanches of projects and the creation of multiple worlds. Glenn Gould, the musician, as interpreter, composer and radio performer, constructed his very own sound language.

sorry, that just doesn't make sense.

Alongside these many activities, Gould also experimented with being an orchestra conductor, aiming to one day dedicate himself completely to the art.

I recall seeing one clip of GG the conductor, years ago, and I'm still cringing.

Glenn Gould began his musical career as an organist and became the greatest pianist and performer of the 20th century.

He was a remarkable pianist, certainly, and he was highly successful in commercial terms, still is, and an idol to a lot of naive people, but there's just no way he is the greatest pianist of any century. There are just too many pianists who are as great as GG or greater, in terms of technique and musicality  -  not to mention the fact that most of his recorded legacy is spliced and edited to the Nth degree, so in many cases you're comparing apples and oranges.

Performer? You mean as a pianist or as a gabby eccentric? Anyway, again, the competition is huge. How about Leonard Bernstein? Pianist, conductor, composer and music educator. I don't think he's the greatest performer of the previous century (I don't really think in those terms) but apart from the piano part he beats Gould flat.

[Karl Henning]

Performer? You mean as a pianist or as a gabby eccentric? Anyway, again, the competition is huge.

Plain good sense.

[Ataraxia]

Let's see...

Gould
Stockhausen
Zappa

James just likes weird shit.

[Mandryka]

There are quite a few of Gould's recorded performances that I consider at the top of the mountain.  Foremost in my mind is his recording of the keyboard Partitas, especially No. 4 in D major.

I used to really love the sarabande. I still think it's it's a very engrossing performance, though  I've become irritated by his touch, and by some of the things he does with the voicing. I think it's narcissistic: he draws attention to himself too much for me now -- with his strange staccato and clever-dick voicing. The vocalise is part of that of course.

But I still like it. One thing it does is show  that he was not only very good with rhythms, but also very clever with using piano colours.

Basically for me I like the very early records and very late records. The stuff in the middle can be fun, but I'm repelled by that narcissism.  Maybe in the past it was the narcissism that appealed so much, I don't know.

[Mandryka]

Glenn Gould - An Appraisal by Rick Phillips
(Gramophone, August 2002)


And Gould was heroic in the obstacles he overcame to achieve his goals]

Ha.

Isn't it interesting the way we're seeing the myth being constructed before our eyes? This is something which really interests me. It would be good (sociologically, historically) to have a book of qualitative testimony from Gould groupies, along the lines of Prozak Nation.

Who else has been the subject of this type of myth making, from the world of high culture?  -- Beethoven,  Liszt, Paganini, Menuhin, Beethoven, Bach, Shakespeare.

[Herman]

Sorry, but I find Gould's Webern not terrily good. There's just no mystery. It's just notes and a gesturing man on a funny chair.

[Sammy]

I used to really love the sarabande. I still think it's it's a very engrossing performance, though  I've become irritated by his touch, and by some of the things he does with the voicing. I think it's narcissistic: he draws attention to himself too much for me now -- with his strange staccato and clever-dick voicing. The vocalise is part of that of course.

Interesting.  What you refer to as "strange staccato" I think of as totally compelling.  Anyways, I find his sarabande easily the best on record.

[Conor71]

^^James those Glenn Gould re-issues are very exciting, thanks for posting them! - I have pre-ordered the WTC box already!.
Just as an aside the recent re-issues seem to have caused the price of the older Glenn Gould series to drop quite a bit - I was able to buy a few of these recordings for just a few pounds!

[Karl Henning]

The strange man in a funny chair

[Mandryka]

Interesting.  What you refer to as "strange staccato" I think of as totally compelling.  Anyways, I find his sarabande easily the best on record.

The truth is that when I first heard that Sarabande I was completely gobsmacked. It was that performance which set me off exploring Bach piano records seriously, I remember ordering every partita 4 I saw recommended by anyone.

And the truth is it was very hard to find anything which matches what Gould does there, in terms of its effect on me. Even now, despite my reservations, I can understand completely why you say it's the best on record. The only two things which I know which are equally inspired is Sokolov's, from a non commercial recording of a concert in Munich in 1990. I can let you have the FLACs if you want. And Rubsam's.

I should say I've got Craig Sheppard's CD on order, partly because I saw your enthusiasm for it and partly because I thought his WTC (on spotify) had an interesting style. I have big expectations!

By the way, I say the staccato is strange because, when I come back to it, when I've not been listening to much Gould, it sort of sticks out as something unique and distinctive. I'm not sure I would go as far as to say I find it compelling, I'm not sure it really adds anything to the music, but you could be right. Certainly,  after a while you get used to it again, and it seems OK. Almost natural in fact.

[Verena]

Hopefully SONY doesn't mess up the sound as they have done with other new box sets. 

What I would really love to see (or hear) is Glenn Gould without the humming.. That would really warrant a new edition. But I guess it's not feasible technically.

[Verena]

Are you a headphone listener?

No, I don't usually listen via headphones, only very occasionally. I guess the humming is worse when using headphones, but even without I find it annoying quite often.

[Verena]

Interesting, for even on headphones I am not bothered by it. But now that you've pointed my attention to it, I am sure to get annoyed by it. 

Sorry, George.. 

[Opus106]

What I would really love to see (or hear) is Glenn Gould without the humming.. That would really warrant a new edition. But I guess it's not feasible technically.

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