Glenn Gould

Josh’s project of working through the recordings of Canadian pianist Glenn Gould. Here are the posts for this project, in order.

• The Glenn Gould Project - Quick – who’s your favorite introverted left-handed Canadian genius?  (Other than Nates of course…) I’ve been looking for a successor to the Dostoevsky reading project for some time, but I think I’ve finally admitted to myself, there just won’t be a replacement.  It’s so sui-generis and so enormous that I just won’t find anything that … Continue reading The Glenn Gould Project →
• Gould the Hipster – Early Recordings and Composition - The one thing you’ll find in any reading about Glenn Gould is that he “burst onto the scene” in 1955 with his first recording of Bach’s Goldberg Variations.  He did, however, compose, perform and record music prior to then.  He was actually fairly well known (at least in Canada) prior to the first Bach recording.  … Continue reading Gould the Hipster – Early Recordings and Composition →
• Gould’s First Two Columbia Recordings – Bach and Beethoven - It’s surprising how different these two recordings are – Bach’s Goldberg Variations and Beethoven’s 30th-32nd sonatas.  They both bear the mark on the same performer, and though I still don’t know that I’m qualified to say things like “this performer’s take on such-and-such piece is better than that performer’s” or “this performer is better at … Continue reading Gould’s First Two Columbia Recordings – Bach and Beethoven →
• Two Concertos (Concerti?) - The third major-release record Gould recorded again pairs Bach and Beethoven.  Gould selected Beethoven’s 2nd, in B Flat Major, and Bach’s D Minor Concerto.  They’re both three-movement concertos, following the common three-movement tempo pattern of medium-slow-fast.  Gould was often quoted as saying he wanted to avoid the “competitive” aspect of concerto performance, where the soloist’s … Continue reading Two Concertos (Concerti?) →
• Gould Recordings 4-9 and an Interview - I’ll talk about the interview first.  It’s called “At Home with Glenn Gould” and is in 9 8-minute segments on YouTube if you want to listen.  It’s from the late 50’s, and shed a lot of light on my experiences of these recordings so far. What I think came out most was a sense of humility … Continue reading Gould Recordings 4-9 and an Interview →
• Gould’s “Solitude Trilogy” – 3 Radio Documentaries - Surprisingly, these documentaries have nothing to do with music. The first, called “The Idea of North” (1967) documents the experiences of southern Canadians travelling to or dwelling in the extreme northern reaches of the country.  Next comes “The Latecomers,” (about the province of Newfoundland.  Last is “The Quiet in the Land,” about Canadian Mennonite communities. It’s an overstatement … Continue reading Gould’s “Solitude Trilogy” – 3 Radio Documentaries →
• Gould Recordings 11-15 – Brahms, Beethoven, Bach, Mozart, Schoenberg, R. Strauss - This is a broad range of music; I’ve tried my best to devote a paragraph to each recording.  I also intend (soon) to write longer entries about Gould’s Beethoven Concertos, and also the Glenn Gould record collection I’ve started.  Once again, just about all this music should turn up on Spotify or YouTube if you … Continue reading Gould Recordings 11-15 – Brahms, Beethoven, Bach, Mozart, Schoenberg, R. Strauss →
• Gould Recordings 16-26 – Bach, Beethoven, Beethoven/Liszt, Schoenberg - You could call these recordings Gould’s “later early period” maybe, running from 1962-1967.  I’ll try to stick to one paragraph per recording.  Once again, I was able to find everything on Spotify.  If you follow me there you can get all the playlists I made.  My favorite recording here is the Bach concerto #3; my … Continue reading Gould Recordings 16-26 – Bach, Beethoven, Beethoven/Liszt, Schoenberg →
• Glenn Gould’s Beethoven First and Second Piano Concertos - Of all the first 30 or so recordings or so – most of which I’ve listened to in a pretty focused way, on multiple occasions – the five Beethoven piano concerto recordings have been the ones I’ve returned to most often.  I’ve tried my best to share my thoughts about the first two here.  One … Continue reading Glenn Gould’s Beethoven First and Second Piano Concertos →
• The Glenn Gould Reader - I just finished the compilation of things Gould wrote and have been collected by Tim Page in The Glenn Gould Reader.  I’m guessing a lot of the excerpts in here are available elsewhere online.  I’ve extracted some quotations that might spark discussion, or at least amusement (see below). About the book more generally – there’s about … Continue reading The Glenn Gould Reader →
• Gould Recordings 27-38 (Mozart, Bach, Schumann, Beethoven, Byrd, Gibbons, Schoenberg, Handel) - This is a pretty eclectic bunch of recordings.  Probably my favorites in this cluster are #35 -“Consort of Musicke Bye William Byrde and Orlando Gibbons,” followed by #38 – the Handel Suites, as a close second.  The three Mozart recordings are tied for worst in this group. 27.  Mozart / Piano Sonatas, Vol. 1: Nos. … Continue reading Gould Recordings 27-38 (Mozart, Bach, Schumann, Beethoven, Byrd, Gibbons, Schoenberg, Handel) →
• Glenn Gould and glenn gould on Beethoven - …you… have clearly developed a resentment pattern in relation to those tunes… You resent the fact that… those motives … can be sung, whistled, or toe-tapped by anyone–any laymen. — “Glenn Gould Interviews Himself about Beethoven” Gould slips this admittedly elitist anti-Beethoven argument in a strange rhetorical context – “gg” interviewing “GG” – and “gg” (the … Continue reading Glenn Gould and glenn gould on Beethoven →
• Gould Recordings 39-49 – Grieg, Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Hindemith, Wagner - This batch of Gould records (which includes recordings from 1973-1976) was less interesting, as a whole, than the previous batches, though there were some bright spots.  I listened to most of them enough times to feel reasonably sure in my judgments (probably at least 5-10 times for each, with one notable exception). #39 – Grieg … Continue reading Gould Recordings 39-49 – Grieg, Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Hindemith, Wagner →
• Gould Records 50-55 – Bach, Hindemith, Sibelius - Gould’s frequent protestations in interviews notwithstanding, he really was a Bach specialist, so far as I can tell.  It’s strange that when asked about his favorite composer, he usually answered Orlando Gibbon, of whose music he recorded something like 12-20 minutes.  There are hours upon hours of Bach.  And if you want to put in … Continue reading Gould Records 50-55 – Bach, Hindemith, Sibelius →
• The Last Glenn Gould Records – Beethoven, Scarlatti, CPE Bach, Gould, Scriabin, Haydn, JS Bach, Brahms, Strauss - These weren’t the last recordings Gould planned; they weren’t meant as some sort of departing “testament” to the world.  Gould’s death, though predictable in hindsight, wasn’t something he had planned for or desired (at least not consciously).  These last seven recordings just happen to be the final ones he made before dying. #56 – Beethoven Piano … Continue reading The Last Glenn Gould Records – Beethoven, Scarlatti, CPE Bach, Gould, Scriabin, Haydn, JS Bach, Brahms, Strauss →
• Top Five Glenn Gould Records That Aren’t Bach -   Glenn Gould is best known as a Bach keyboard music specialist, and despite his protests to the contrary, that’s clearly his oeuvre’s biggest strength.  Nonetheless, Gould did record a bunch of other things, and many of them have given me a lot of listening and re-listening pleasure.  So here goes a Desert-Island-Top-5 type list. … Continue reading Top Five Glenn Gould Records That Aren’t Bach →
• Top Five Glenn Gould Bach Recordings - Glenn Gould recorded more than sixty records, and while the majority of them may not be Bach, the plurality certainly are.  And though many of the rest of the records are a joy to listen to, the greatest joy for me always comes from the Bach.  The liner notes on numerous Gould-Bach records repeat a … Continue reading Top Five Glenn Gould Bach Recordings →