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Glenn Gould: A Life in Pictures
Foreword by Yo-Yo MaIntroduction by Tim Page“Glenn Gould was blessed with a multitude of gifts, but longevity was not among them. And yet . . . he has, in some profound and personal way, transcended time, for he remains a vital -- indeed essential -- musical presence all these years later, in some ways more central to our experience now than when he was alive.” -- Tim Page, from the IntroductionGlenn Gould (1932-1982) burst onto the world stage with his inspired 1955 recording of Bach’s Goldberg Variations . His dynamic virtuosity and passionate artistry inspired millions, and he spent the next nine years as a star on the international concert circuit. In 1964, he announced that he was retiring from live performance, and devoted the rest of his life to recordings and documentaries.Glenn A Life in Pictures is the first photographic treatment of the life of one of the greatest and most fascinating musicians of all time. This collection of more than 200 images includes a treasure trove of family pictures from the Glenn Gould Estate, most of which have never before been published, and rare photos from the CBC Archives, Sony Classical, and the National Archives of Canada.A Life in Pictures celebrates the seventieth anniversary of Gould’s birth. The Foreword by Yo-Yo Ma and the Introduction by music critic Tim Page provide an insightful overview of Gould’s life and art. Extensive captions by the Estate’s literary advisor, Malcolm Lester, and quotes from Gould himself and other luminaries such as Leonard Bernstein, Yehudi Menuhin, Leopold Stokowski, and Leonard Rose appear throughout the book. The result is a lively portrait of a unique creative genius.“Gould’s mind was a brilliant and shimmering prism through which sounds, senses and ideas were magically transfigured. As a teenager hearing his 1955 CBS recording of the Bach Goldberg Variations for the first time, I experienced a musical epiphany that would fuel my musical thinking for years to come. His recordings were a touchstone during those early years. . . ."-- Yo-Yo Ma, from the Foreword
192 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2002
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 2, 2018
I read this while I was listening to a cd of 1)Music by Bach and 2)Music not by Bach.Intro by Yo Yo Mah who is a virtuoso in his own right.I had heard the stories of how eccentric(weird?) Gould was but then I heard a radio interview with him and thought he was a smart,jolly fellow.If you haven't seen him play,go to youtube right now.I implore you.
October 28, 2011
Listen up you hosers. Glenn Gould is, like, a Canadian national hero, eh--and not because he figured out how to get free cases of beer by stuffing baby mice in beer bottles and returning them to the complaint counter to get free beers, eh.
If you haven't a clue of what I'm talking about, go here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsgVsp...
(Actually, Gould did not drink and would never have been cruel to mice. He was an animal lover and life-long member of the anti-vivisection society.)
In case you're culturally bereft, the brief on Glenn Gould was that he was one of the most revered and criticized classical musicians of the 20th century, a technical wizard at the keyboard, an unconventional musical thinker, a multi-talented multi-media artist, an articulate philosopher on art and life, a man of many contradictions and an overall odd personality. Attempts to pin down and explain his eccentricities and genius tend to stymie commentators, and in the past that has often led to misinterpretations of what Gould was trying to say or what his life and the way he lived it really meant.
This book attempts in a fair and balanced way to correct some of those misperceptions, and does a fairly good job though its hagiographic biases are unavoidable (the book was commissioned and produced by the Glenn Gould Estate, after all). The book is essentially 41 pages of text followed by about 150 pages of excellent photos showing Gould from his idyllic childhood days on the family estate on Ontario's Lake Simcoe to the time of his second and last recording of Bach's Goldberg Variations, recorded and released just two weeks before his death in 1982. Following a fairly typical two-page foreword homage by cellist Yo-Yo Ma, the 27-page biography by Gould's friend and journalist, Tim Page, is a nice balance of essential information and landmarks, personal philosophy and artistic aesthetic and attempts to explain the artist's demons and predilections. The photo captions on the succeeding spreads are often lengthy and provide additional facts and expand upon previously stated information. A succinct bullet-point chronology of his life concludes the book on pages 184 to 189.
Despite its excellence as a primer and visual aid, I consider this an adjunct work about Gould, not an adequate substitute for a full-length, in-depth biography.
Like many artistic geniuses, Gould died too young and was addicted to too many pills. Quite possibly the most moving set of photos in the book show his various studio, hotel and apartment workspaces--photographed immediately after his death in the state he left them. In one shot, a Grammy Award sits tottering atop a pile of papers and reel-to-reel tapes, seemingly tossed there without thought; an unintended commentary by Gould on the relative unimportance of fame and accolades.
Although I already knew a lot about Gould, having seen several documentaries about him and from multiple viewings of 32 Short Films About Glenn Gould, which is one of my all-time favorite films, I learned some interesting things about him from this book. For one thing he had figured out way back in the 1950s that bathing his senstive playing arms and digits in warm water prior to and after a concert would improve his circulation and maintain his playing health over the long term. After many of his artistic contemporaries, including the feted pianists Leon Fleischer and Gary Graffman, found their careers in tatters due to repetitive strain injury or carpal tunnel syndrome, Gould, because of his self-administered therapies, was able to keep on playing.
Gould's most notorious aesthetic beliefs possibly revolved around his belief that recorded music--with its inherent opportunities of attaining perfect performance standards through repetition and editing--was superior to what came out in live performances. This was part of the reason he withdrew forever from live performing in 1964 (actually, his reasons for doing so were not dissimilar to those of the Beatles).
The crux of that philosophy are stated beautifully on page 20 of this book:
"He pointed out that most creative artists were able to tinker and perfect, but that a live performer had to recreate his work from scratch in every concert. The result, in Gould's view, was a 'tremendous conservatism' that made it difficult, if not impossible, for an artist to grow and learn."
And interesting look at how this book came about is offered at the website of the Institute for Canadian Music Newsletter (it's the fourth review down the page):
http://www.utoronto.ca/icm/0101f.html
Now, take off eh!
If you haven't a clue of what I'm talking about, go here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsgVsp...
(Actually, Gould did not drink and would never have been cruel to mice. He was an animal lover and life-long member of the anti-vivisection society.)
In case you're culturally bereft, the brief on Glenn Gould was that he was one of the most revered and criticized classical musicians of the 20th century, a technical wizard at the keyboard, an unconventional musical thinker, a multi-talented multi-media artist, an articulate philosopher on art and life, a man of many contradictions and an overall odd personality. Attempts to pin down and explain his eccentricities and genius tend to stymie commentators, and in the past that has often led to misinterpretations of what Gould was trying to say or what his life and the way he lived it really meant.
This book attempts in a fair and balanced way to correct some of those misperceptions, and does a fairly good job though its hagiographic biases are unavoidable (the book was commissioned and produced by the Glenn Gould Estate, after all). The book is essentially 41 pages of text followed by about 150 pages of excellent photos showing Gould from his idyllic childhood days on the family estate on Ontario's Lake Simcoe to the time of his second and last recording of Bach's Goldberg Variations, recorded and released just two weeks before his death in 1982. Following a fairly typical two-page foreword homage by cellist Yo-Yo Ma, the 27-page biography by Gould's friend and journalist, Tim Page, is a nice balance of essential information and landmarks, personal philosophy and artistic aesthetic and attempts to explain the artist's demons and predilections. The photo captions on the succeeding spreads are often lengthy and provide additional facts and expand upon previously stated information. A succinct bullet-point chronology of his life concludes the book on pages 184 to 189.
Despite its excellence as a primer and visual aid, I consider this an adjunct work about Gould, not an adequate substitute for a full-length, in-depth biography.
Like many artistic geniuses, Gould died too young and was addicted to too many pills. Quite possibly the most moving set of photos in the book show his various studio, hotel and apartment workspaces--photographed immediately after his death in the state he left them. In one shot, a Grammy Award sits tottering atop a pile of papers and reel-to-reel tapes, seemingly tossed there without thought; an unintended commentary by Gould on the relative unimportance of fame and accolades.
Although I already knew a lot about Gould, having seen several documentaries about him and from multiple viewings of 32 Short Films About Glenn Gould, which is one of my all-time favorite films, I learned some interesting things about him from this book. For one thing he had figured out way back in the 1950s that bathing his senstive playing arms and digits in warm water prior to and after a concert would improve his circulation and maintain his playing health over the long term. After many of his artistic contemporaries, including the feted pianists Leon Fleischer and Gary Graffman, found their careers in tatters due to repetitive strain injury or carpal tunnel syndrome, Gould, because of his self-administered therapies, was able to keep on playing.
Gould's most notorious aesthetic beliefs possibly revolved around his belief that recorded music--with its inherent opportunities of attaining perfect performance standards through repetition and editing--was superior to what came out in live performances. This was part of the reason he withdrew forever from live performing in 1964 (actually, his reasons for doing so were not dissimilar to those of the Beatles).
The crux of that philosophy are stated beautifully on page 20 of this book:
"He pointed out that most creative artists were able to tinker and perfect, but that a live performer had to recreate his work from scratch in every concert. The result, in Gould's view, was a 'tremendous conservatism' that made it difficult, if not impossible, for an artist to grow and learn."
And interesting look at how this book came about is offered at the website of the Institute for Canadian Music Newsletter (it's the fourth review down the page):
http://www.utoronto.ca/icm/0101f.html
Now, take off eh!
June 28, 2011
Beautiful B/W photos, descriptive spare text. I never tire of this book, it is permanently on my bedside table.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews