I'm a huge fan of Gould's approach to Bach. His articulation is incredibly crisp and clear, which helps the listener follow the contrapuntal interplay of voices.
My favorite Gould recordings include the Well-Tempered Clavier, the French suites, and the Goldberg Variations.
I´m a big fan too.
It's difficult to choose some favorite recordings but some of them comes to mind now:
-Bach:
Goldberg variations (I prefer the second studio recording over the first one, but I love both)
Tocatas
WTC
English suites
Concerto italiano (1980 version)
-Handel:
Suites (on harpsichord, this is crazy but lovely)
Ah, you have found a true Gouldian here. My all time favourite pianist. At the moment I am working my way through his Schoenberg stuff. Fabulous. Just as good as his Bach and that's saying something because his Bach is sublime. A genius whose interpretations were matched by his incomparable technique. I could rave on but I'll stop now. A happy new year to all.
I wasn't crazy about the Hindemith sonatas at first, but the last time I listened to Gould's recordings I really got into them. I just bought some of his Bach. The inventions and Toccatas. And I have the 4 CD GG Plays Sonatas, Fantasies, Variations, which features numerous composers. I wish I had bought the Schoenberg set because the 2012 re-issue is out of print already. But knowing Sony, I'm sure they'll recycle these recordings continuously, so I'll wait for the next round.
I'm not a fan of Schoenberg but Gould definitely was. I've read that Schoenberg was the only composer he wrote about who he never criticized. He had a fancy speedboat named "Arnold."
I think he enjoyed the structure of the music. Most of us have to put up with its rather unpleasant sound. Must say I bought Gould's Schoenberg but never listen to it. Probably more interesting to play than to listen to.
Some of his old Toronto haunts are worth visiting, including Massey Hall, Eaton's Auditorium (now The Carlu), 110 St. Clair Avenue West condo building, Fran's Restaurant (near The Carlu). And lastly, Mt. Pleasant Cemetery.
Here is a proud owner of following set, The Glenn Gould Complete Jacket Collection. It gave me a peace of mind as I didn't need to check which album I was missing since then. Now I only look for unusual (bootleg-ish) releases.
Here is a proud owner of following set, The Glenn Gould Complete Jacket Collection. It gave me a peace of mind as I didn't need to check which album I was missing since then. Now I only look for unusual (bootleg-ish) releases.
I too love Glenn. Very much. I still remember hearing that he had died, I felt the silence like a heavy weight. So sad.
All Gould is worth hearing, (I have all the recordings), but much of it is idiosyncratic, individual...willful..?....
...
...the flexibility of Bach suits him best of course, and is almost universally wonderful. His Beethoven is serious, and powerful. His Haydn is excellent. I also think his Prokofiev and Scraibin are quite successful. So many others (is there a better recording of Strauss' five piano pieces op.3?!) .... The less said about his Mozart the better though....
Total Gouldian here. Love everything about him. I could listen to that man talk for hours. Brilliant visionary. I love that him and Marshall McLuhan were in a dialogue. There's a lot of intersection in their ideas. What I wouldn't give to see a recording of them speaking!
I'm pretty much convinced by anything he plays. I adore his Scriabin - I wish he did more of the sonatas. I'd love to hear what he would have done with the much later ones.
Has anyone here seen the documentary he made "The Idea of North"?
Has anyone seen that documentary about him where that shows footage of his funeral? They play a recording of him playing Bach at the service, and his voice resonates throughout the church. Everyone at the funeral started crying. So did I. It's very moving.
Has anyone seen that documentary about him where that shows footage of his funeral? They play a recording of him playing Bach at the service, and his voice resonates throughout the church. Everyone at the funeral started crying. So did I. It's very moving.
Yes I saw also this documentary and I asked myself,why are they crying.Is it the occasion and the music from Bach,I hope it was the greatness of the music more than anything else.
Yes what fan of piano music wouldn't be! When my father passed on all his CDs to me he had almost 30 discs of Gould. One included was of Paul Hindemith's piano concertos. I love Hindemith because his music is tonal but wholly undiatonic. Gould' performances are emotional and brilliant but not over embellished.
My exposure to Glenn Gould was limited, but I considered him THE Bach guy, and I didn’t mind his humming. I once attended a Bach concert with him and the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra conducted by George Szell, a most perfect pairing if there ever was one. Gould was a veritable Bach machine, and Szell the ultimate enabler. It was a stunning performance that resonates with me to this very day.
My exposure to Glenn Gould was limited, but I considered him THE Bach guy, and I didn't mind his humming. I once attended a Bach concert with him and the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra conducted by George Szell, a most perfect pairing if there ever was one. Gould was a veritable Bach machine, and Szell the ultimate enabler. It was a stunning performance that resonates with me to this very day.
I'm a big Gould fan, especially of his Goldberg Variations. If I were to pick another recording it would be his Scriabin/Sibelius album with Sony Classical.
I can make two recommendations that in my humble opinion are absolute musts for fellow Gould fans: first and foremost, The Glenn Gould Reader, a collection of Gould's writings compiled and edited by Tim Page; second, and not quite as essential but highly entertaining, the Francois Girard film 32 Short Films About Glenn Gould.
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