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 →

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 →

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 →

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 →