My contribution to Les Belles Artes.
Posted on 11/24/2007 8:43:24 AM PST by Borges
When Glenn Gould died unexpectedly in 1982, a victim of a stroke at the unseemly age of 50, his red-hot reputation had calmed to a simmer. Gould, a sufferer from extreme stage fright but a winner in the stock market, had quit performing in public 18 years earlier, using the proceeds of his financial ventures to soften the burdens of early retirement. Much of his time later was spent with television projects in his native Toronto, not all of which had to do with the piano.
In death, Gould came to life. Music business operatives appeared suddenly and in hordes, claiming hitherto unnoticed intimacy with the great man and eager to share their experiences in articles, interviews and books. It was amazing how many had known Gould so well, spent so many hours exchanging deep thoughts during marathon middle-of-the-night phone calls to area code 416.
Maybe they also belonged to the tens of thousands who were present at the infamous premiere of Stravinsky’s “Rite of Spring” or the opening night of “My Fair Lady.” The less privileged had to fall back on the newly spruced-up Gould recordings rushed into rerelease. Record companies that had not been paying much attention introduced great piles of discs into the marketplace, from big-ticket items of Bach and Beethoven down to the sweepings that Gould had left behind in the studio.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
PING
Just bought Simone Dinnerstein’s “Goldberg”. WOW!
(That WOW is not only for her playing, but for her looks as well. If I knew how, I’d post her picture.
My contribution to Les Belles Artes.
Interesting article. One of my favorites, along with Youri Egorov.
Dear Borges,
Thanks for the ping!
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sitetest
I love his last Goldberg Variations. I have not beard a lot but some of his other work is quirky.
I don’t know but Gould set the stage for some of the Beatles gestures (longish hair, retreating from concert life (in 1964, 2 years before the Beatles)...regarding using the recording studio as an art in itself).
LOL, I meant “heard.”
They certainly are a triumph.
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