The Classical Music Minute

Glenn Gould: The Mad Artist

December 13, 2021 Steven Hobé, Composer & Host Season 1 Episode 33
The Classical Music Minute
Glenn Gould: The Mad Artist
Show Notes Transcript

Description
Glenn Gould is best remembered for his remarkable interpretations of the keyboard works of Johann Sebastian Bach. But he is also fondly thought of as having been extraordinarily peculiar—in the most endearing way. Join me, as we take a minute to get the scoop!

Fun Fact
From an early age, Gould challenged the accepted norms of the “classical music biz.” After winning the first Kiwanis festival in Canada in 1944, he swore off competitions, claiming that they were antithetical to the nature of art. (He later declared that “competition, rather than money, is the root of all evil.”) Most controversial of all, he came to detest the live concert experience – for reasons of anxiety, and more importantly, for philosophical reasons. Fundamentally, he regarded his mission as an artist as a moral one: to experience and share a state of “ecstasy,” of a higher spiritual state. (The Glenn Gould Foundation 2021)

About Steven
Steven is a Canadian composer living in Toronto. He creates a range of works, with an emphasis on the short-form genre—his muse being to offer the listener both the darker and more satiric shades of human existence. If you're interested, please check out his website for more.

A Note To Music Students et al.
All recordings and sheet music are available on my site. I encourage you to take a look and play through some. Give me a shout if you have any questions.

Got a topic? Pop me off an email at: TCMMPodcast@Gmail.com 

Support the show

Glenn Herbert Gould was born in Toronto Canada in 1932. He is best known for his remarkable interpretation of Johann Sebastian Bach’s keyboard works. 

But Gould also had a reputation for a variety of oddities. For instance, he hated live performances and preferred the intimate nature of the recording studio. He refused to play Chopin, Schumann, or Liszt declaring their compositions to be empty theatrical gestures.

He was also a pretty awful driver. On one occasion, he was stopped by police for wildly waving his arms whilst driving. When asked, Gould stated that he was under the influence of Mahler.

Gould spent most of his time in a dreary hotel room because it offered 24-hour room service and wore heavy sweaters, scarves, and gloves in summer for fear of catching a cold. Gould certainly had a sense of the dramatic, playing the mad artist, having once referred to himself as The Last Puritan.

He is remembered by his friends as funny, gregarious, sympathetic, and generous, and a true Canadian icon.