Thread: The meaning of Glenn Gould

From the Globe and Mail, this past weekend:

If Glenn Gould were alive today, he would be celebrating his 80th birthday, posting to his blog, releasing another podcast and figuring out how to license downloads of his recordings. Or maybe he would just be hunkered down at the piano playing the work of a dead European composer when not hiding out at classic Toronto diner Fran’s, eating rice pudding.

Complete article:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/...rticle4559535/

Presto Classical also has an article about him.

Thank you, bog, for having given us such greatness! In a sense, I'm sad that he didn't get to enjoy all this technology I know he would have loved but at the same time, I don't feel he belongs here with the people that currently occupy this world and is probably better off away from it all. Happy Birthday and thank you for playing the way you did!

I suspect GG would've loved all things "e"--getting them out of the concert halls and into his e-realm.

Wistful thinking. No way GG was ever going to see his 60th, 70th, or 80th. Not with Fran's bacon & eggs (served with caramelized apples & a splash of hot syrup), at 2:00 a.m.

And I think chatting at TC, and holding a FB account, would've been expecting too much.

Why am I seriously considering getting this Anniversary Edition? Someone lie to me and tell me they are different recordings and I'll place the order! Really, though...I'm trying to justify buying the same, exact recordings for the fourth time and insanity is close to prevailing.

Hah. Ahem: they are the same recordings, but new-and-improved masterings, and the pieces are in a slightly different order.

[Technically the above is not a lie, just ignorance.]

Okay, I'm convinced!! [placing order]

It's always a new experience.

I had to order this because of the chair in the upper left corner.

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I just ordered the 10 DVD complete CBC television broadcasts. I'm betting this will be as great as Bernstein's Young People's Concerts.

I have the CBC DVD's. Great set. Sure do miss Glenn. I know he was become more interested with Conducting toward the end of his life so I don't know how much piano playing he would have been doing. It would have been interesting to see what works he would have conducted and how he would have put his own spin and sense of melody and rhythm on things. A Mahler symphony conducted by Glenn Gould would have really been something.

Originally Posted by realdealblues

A Mahler symphony conducted by Glenn Gould would have really been something.

Young Gould did conduct the Urlicht movement of Mahler's Second. The footage is quite amazing. He would have made an extraordinarily expressive conductor.

Glenn did plenty of conducting!...of his own hand, of course.

In case anyone is interested, Sony is releasing a 20 Volume Set of Glenn's Recordings.

"The new CD series collecting Glenn Gould’s complete CBS/Sony Classical recordings in 20 volumes with 2 to 6 CDs each."

I looked all over and had a hell of a time finding what each volume was and what was on each volume so after an hour of hunting around and typing here is what I found.

Note: The prices listed at the end are the current Pre-Order prices for Amazon.com

The Glenn Gould Collection
Vol. 1 – Bach – Goldberg Variations (1955, 1981) [2CD] – $14.23
Vol. 2 – Bach – Two-Part Inventions, Sinfonias & Toccatas [3CD] – $18.26
Vol. 3 – Bach – The English & French Suites [4CD] – $24.50
Vol. 4 – Bach – The Well-Tempered Clavier Books I & II [4CD] – $23.56
Vol. 5 – Bach – 6 Partitas, Fantasies, Italian Concerto [4CD] – $24.62
Vol. 6 – Bach – Piano Concertos Nos. 1-5 & 7 [2CD] – $14.27
Vol. 7 – Bach – The 6 Sonatas For Violin & Harpsichord [2CD] – $14.70
Vol. 8 – Beethoven – Piano Sonatas [6CD] – $36.47
Vol. 9 – Beethoven – Bagatelles, Variations [2CD] – $14.43
Vol. 10 – Beethoven – Piano Concertos Nos. 1-5 [3CD] – $18.52
Vol. 11 – Conducts & Plays Beethoven & Wagner [2CD] – $20.95
Vol. 12 – Brahms – Ballades, Rhapsodies & Intermezzi [2CD] – 11.99
Vol. 13 – Haydn – 6 Late Piano Sonatas [2CD] – $14.91
Vol. 14 – Plays Hindemith, 3 Sonatas [4CD] – $21.14
Vol. 15 – Mozart – Piano Sonatas, Fantasias, Concerto 24 [5CD] – $25.20
Vol. 16 – Schoenberg – Klavierstucke [4CD] – $17.99
Vol. 17 – Richard Strauss – Ophelia Lieder, Sonatas [2CD] – $14.55
Vol. 18 – Renaissance And Baroque Music [2CD] – $11.99
Vol. 19 – Live In Salzburg, Moscow & Leningrad [2CD] – $14.27
Vol. 20 – Plays Sonatas, Fantasies, Variations [4CD] – $23.40

Also being released is: Glenn Gould: The Complete Bach Collection

"All Bach - audio and video. The first issue of Gould’s complete Bach-legacy in a 38 CD + 6 DVD limited deluxe edition including a full colored book including complete original liner notes, partly written by Glenn Gould himself plus a new introduction by Gould expert Michael Stegemann. The DVD component includes 40 minutes of yet unreleased conversation between Glenn Gould and Curtis Davis. Gould discusses his continuing discovery of Bach, the meaning to him of fugue and counterpoint, and changing attitudes towards music and its performers. The set comes in a cloth wrapped solid case with silver foil debossing."

Contents:
38 CDs and 6 DVDs consisting of 30 CDs Columbia/CBS LP reissues in mini LP sleeves
8 CDs posthumous released recordings, outtakes and interviews on Bach
3 DVDs compiled from CBC’s “Glenn Gould on Television”, including 40 minutes of yet unreleased material
3 DVDs “Glenn Gould plays Bach” directed by Bruno Monsaingeon

Available for Pre-Order at Amazon.com for $113.98
http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Bach-.../dp/B0086WQNZ0

I want CBC TV set, but haven't pulled the trigger yet. I'll be ready right after it goes out of print!

Any opinions on the more affordable 32 Short Films About... DVD?