Glenn Gould
The most renowned Canadian classical performer of the 20th century, pianist Glenn Gould remains one of the most fascinating and celebrated figures in all of music, the archetypal riddle wrapped inside an enigma wrapped inside a conundrum. A former child prodigy, his piano artistry was unparalleled, yet he often received less recognition as a virtuoso than as a troubled eccentric; a disconnected recluse notorious for such odd habits as wearing a wool topcoat in the dog days of summer, Gould was a sight to behold even in live performances -- seated on a low chair and slumped over the keyboard, humming (sometimes singing) audibly to himself as he played, all the while conducting with his free hand. Gould's impossible technique and singular behavior were so hotly debated by scholars that often it seemed that his actual skills were negligible; perhaps it's not surprising that at the age of just 31, he left public performance behind forever, turning instead to broadcasting and writing, as well as an almost obsessive exploration of modern recording technology. Gould was born in Toronto, Ontario, on September 25, 1932, the product of a musical family that included his father, an amateur violinist, and his mother, a pianist and organist; Edvard Grieg was a distant relation as well. Even at the age of three, Gould evidenced prodigious skills -- in addition to his absolute pitch, he was already able to read staff notation, and just two years later he authored his first compositions. At the age of ten, he began lessons at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, and in 1944 took home the piano trophy from the annual Kiwanis Music Festival, the only such contest he ever entered in response to his strong opposition to the idea of competitive performance. In 1945, Gould passed his associateship examination as a solo performer at the Royal Conservatory; that same year he offered his first public performance on the organ, a concert reviewed under the headline "Boy, Age 12, Shows Genius as Organist." At the age of 14, Gould made his debut as soloist at a Royal Conservatory orchestral performance of Beethoven's Fourth Piano Concerto. His first public recital was in 1947, and featured works by Scarlatti, Beethoven, Chopin, and Liszt; his debut network radio recital followed over CBC airwaves in 1950, and marked the beginning of his long relationship with broadcasting and recording. In early 1955, Gould made his New York debut, and within hours signed with Columbia's Masterworks imprint. His first recording, a performance of Bach's Goldberg Variations, became an instant best-seller, and he went on to make over 60 more recordings for the label in the years to follow. In 1957, Gould toured Europe, and at the peak of Cold War tensions he became the first North American ever to perform in the Soviet Union. His concert career continued to great success during the early '60s, but in Los Angeles on April 10, 1964 -- with no advance warning, and without fanfare -- he delivered his final public performance. Gould's decision to retire from live performances was in part a result of his desire to focus more of his energies on writing, broadcasting, composing, and conducting; his first major new project was a "sound documentary" called The Idea of North, a philosophical musing on the meaning of northern existence. Keeping in contact with the outside world primarily over the telephone, Gould was often out of the spotlight for long periods of time, but in 1981 he broke with his long tradition of not re-recording material to return to the work with which he remained most closely identified, the Goldberg Variations; his decision was motivated in large part by the vast improvements in technology during the quarter century that separated the two recordings. Months later, he formed a Toronto chamber orchestra, serving as their conductor on a recording of Wagner's Siegfried Idyll; it was his last major work -- Gould died on October 4, 1982, after suffering a stroke. He was just 50 years old. ~ Jason Ankeny
Artistas similares
-
Beethoven: Piano Sonatas Nos. 16-18, Op. 31 - Gould Remastered
Clásica - Editado por Sony Classical el 4 sept. 1973
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Piano Sonatas Nos. 8, 10, 12 & 13
Clásica - Editado por Sony Classical el 1 ene. 1972
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bach: Goldberg Variations, BWV 988
Clásica - Editado por Sony Classical el 1 ene. 1956
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schumann: Piano Quartet, Op. 47 - Brahms: Piano Quintet, Op. 34
Clásica - Editado por Sony Classical el 17 may. 1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bach: The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2, BWV 886-893
Clásica - Editado por Sony Classical el 1 ene. 1971
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Berg/Krenek/Webern/Ravel/Debussy
Clásica - Editado por Sony Classical el 27 jun. 1995
Discoteca Ideal Qobuz16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Herbert von Karajan conducts Beethoven (Live Recordig)
Herbert von Karajan, Glenn Gould, Clara Haskil
Música concertante - Editado por Artemisia el 9 oct. 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Piano Concertos Nos. 2,3 by Glenn Gould
Glenn Gould, Paul Paray, Detroit Symphony Orchestra
Clásica - Editado por Alexandre Bak - Classical Music Reference Recording el 27 jul. 2022
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Piano Sonatas Nos. 5-7, Op. 10 - Gould Remastered (Remastered)
Clásica - Editado por Sony Classical el 25 ene. 1965
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Hindemith: The Complete Piano Sonatas (Remastered)
Clásica - Editado por Sony Classical el 1 ene. 1973
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Glenn Gould in Moscow (Live)
Clásica - Editado por JSC Firma Melodiya el 1 ene. 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Handel: Suites for Harpsichord and J.S. Bach: Selections from The Well Tempered Clavier, Book II
Clásica - Editado por Sony Classical el 25 may. 1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Piano Sonatas Nos. 8-10 - Gould Remastered
Clásica - Editado por Sony Classical el 16 ene. 1967
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Hindemith: Complete Sonatas for Brass and Piano - Gould Remastered
Clásica - Editado por Sony Classical el 1 ene. 1976
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Glenn Gould & Chamber Music
Clásica - Editado por Sony Classical el 22 feb. 1997
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Glenn Gould Discusses His Goldberg Variations With Tim Page ((Gould Remastered))
Clásica - Editado por Sony Classical el 11 sept. 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Glenn Gould in Concert (1951-1960)
Clásica - Editado por West Hill Radio Archives el 4 oct. 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Music of Arnold Schoenberg, Vol. 7: Chamber Music (Remastered)
Clásica - Editado por Sony Classical el 11 sept. 2015
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Music of Arnold Schoenberg: Songs and Works for Piano Solo - Gould Remastered
Clásica - Editado por Sony Classical el 18 abr. 1966
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sonata n.31 in La bemolle maggiore op. 110
Clásica - Editado por La Bambolina sas el 23 mar. 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Glenn Gould Trilogy - Ein Leben
Clásica - Editado por Sony Classical el 7 sept. 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo