Glenn Gould

Ok pal,


For one thing, the guy wrote smarmy liner notes.


He condemned Vladimir Horowitz's virtuosity, while being insanely jealous of it.

I think the whole 'eccentricty' thing was a bit of an act.


Also, Fredriks right about his Bach being more about Glenn Gould than about Bach.


I happen to like the fact that he recorded composers like Scriabin , Kenek, Hindemith, Schoenberg ect,... and very well at that.


To quote Ike Eisenhower: If you give me a week, I might be able to think of something else.

Bloody hell first round and the Bass players already mentioned

But not playing though, Dan! Enjoy the music!! Kindest regards from Fredrik!

to paraphrase Monty Python - is this the right thread for an argument?

You have to pay you know! Fredrik!!

quote:

Originally posted by Fredrik_Fiske:
You have to pay you know! Fredrik!!

No you don't !

Yes you do! Fred!!

quote:

Originally posted by Unstoppable:
Also, Fredriks right about his Bach being more about Glenn Gould than about Bach.

actually, i believe that was me. but i also like the 5.1 m.c. sacd "rerecording" of his bach, just in that it's fun. never heard it said before that his eccentricity was an act - the man was an obvious maniac - an egotistical one, to be sure, but still, deranged.

Your time has run out. I am not arguing any more! If you want me to carry on arguing, you will have to give me another fiver!

quote:

Originally posted by fidelio:

quote:

Originally posted by Unstoppable:
Also, Fredriks right about his Bach being more about Glenn Gould than about Bach.

actually, i believe that was me. but i also like the 5.1 m.c. sacd "rerecording" of his bach, just in that it's fun. never heard it said before that his eccentricity was an act - the man was an obvious maniac - an egotistical one, to be sure, but still, deranged.

Fidelio,

Okay, fine. Your opinion was that he was genuine. For me, his personality was fairly typical of the East Coast intellectual of the 60's and 70's. He had something of that overfed smugness about him, though he could no doubt be insightful and sincere when the mood struck.

Part of the act may have simply been necessity. Classical music fans love a personality. So many in this field have gone far based on that and not their musicianship. Gould suffered from being from a white, Canadian, protestant background ( how dull !), just another ordinary guy from NE North America. I say this somewhat tongue in cheek, obviously.

He played the part well. His cult was like him in personality, outlook and tastes. I think he was a fine pianist. I don't care for the cult of the personality myself, or if I do, at least I prefer more interesting subjects.


Unstoppable

Unstopable,

You seem to know him well,you did meet?

quote:

Originally posted by bad boy dan:
Unstopable,

You seem to know him well,you did meet?

Bad B


Since this is your thread, maybe you would like to give your view and/or opinion of the topic under discussion. Not much of a discussion with me just talking to myself.

Please feel free. Don't hold anything back.



Unstoppable


PS. I only know the personality from the liner notes. Unless it is an act, I have to take what is written at face value.

No i am too shy

quote:

his Bach being more about Glenn Gould than about Bach

Depends on the performance and... the company. His work with Menuhin is very fine.

Cheers

Mike

noted that the multichannel gould "rerecording" is the recording of the month in stereophile.

Some years ago I used to own quite a lot of Gould´s Bach (and Beethoven)recordings, acquiring them to widen my horizon, but they were within a year or so disposed of, as I couldn´t stand his egomanic style. But seeing Goulds 1981 Goldbergs on a sale some months ago, I decided to acquire it, intending -if possible- to revise my view upon him. But I found his playing excactly as eccentric, as I remembered. His choice of tempo and articulation f.ex.is not just casual(I might forgive him if this was the case), but they are meticulously calculated to be like no one else´s, and this is straight-out irritating, as his choice for that reason seems to depend upon other factors than pure musical arguments. This is why I find him irrelevant.

quote:

This is why I find him irrelevant.

That's a nice and strong statement, pe-zulu, and as such, I like it. Myself, I have found an entrance to Bach and classical music itself with alikes of Gould, because they made my eyebrows raise. Today, I'm not so much a Gould fan, any more, partly due to the effects you describe. Still, I think, he was a capable piano player. Mislead, maybe...

cheers
Stefan

quote:

Originally posted by sjust:
Still, I think, he was a capable piano player. Mislead, maybe...

That he from a technical point of view was a brilliant pianist, who was able to play everything excactly in the way, he wanted, is, in my opinion, beyond dispute.
Regards,

exactly what I wanted to say, pe-zulu. Not more, not less. We're in synch..

cheers
Stefan