Glenn Gould

[Verena]

[asin]B000LE0THE[/asin]

Thanks for making me aware of this!

[Mandryka]

I am listening to it now and it's indeed gorgeous.

Why do you think he plays like that?

[Mandryka]

Dunno, probably his love for Bach's music.

You think he used that staccato touch because he loved Bach's music? I don't understand.

[Sammy]

You think he used that staccato touch because he loved Bach's music? I don't understand.

I'd say he used it because he felt it clarified the musical lines and brought out the best in the music.

[Mandryka]

You can hear some extreme staccato about 10 secs into the sarabande, in the LH.

You see, that's an example of the narcissism which I think I perceive. Immediately my attention is drawn to him, and to this apparently arbitrary decision to use extreme staccato there.

It's entertaining ear candy, I don't deny that. And  I hope I've made it clear that I love this recording. I can see why George may think that I'm going into too much detail. I can hear the joy he hears and like him I like to wallow in it, be infected by it. 

But I think it is a self regarding performance and part of what makes it entertaining is Gould's impulsiveness. Obviously, there's a long tradition of music making which draws as much attention to the performer as to the music -- think of Stokowski projecting his hands onto the ceiling. Gould's part of that tradition IMO, that's what I'm really saying.

[Sammy]

You can hear some extreme staccato about 10 secs into the sarabande, in the LH.

You see, that's an example of the narcissism which I think I perceive. Immediately my attention is drawn to him, and to this apparently arbitrary decision to use extreme staccato there.

I think you're way off base.  First, the staccato notes 10 (actually 11) seconds into the sarabande are hardly extreme; I'd call them rather mild and more of a detached approach.  There simply isn't anything extreme about them.

Is it an arbitrary decision?  No, just an interpretive decision.  Tureck also makes extensive use of a mild staccato in her Bach performances.  There's nothing strange or odd going on here.  I'm beginning to get the impression that you haven't heard all that many recordings of Bach's solo keyboard works.  Maybe you've been listening too much to the mainstream recordings from artists such as Perahia and Hewitt.

[Mandryka]

I don't think it's really possible to play with a more detached touch than GG uses at that point in the Sarabande, and so the question rests unanswered -- is there a musical reason is it just his impulsiveness? Tureck, from memory (so I could be wrong) uses more portato there, at least in her best recording of it -- the one on Great Pianists.

Other examples of Gould's personal  style are the allemande of Partita 1 (all extreme staccato -- why?) and the gigue of Partita 5 -- played at breakneck speed  (why? Because he feels like it?)

[Sammy]

I don't think it's really possible to play with a more detached touch than GG uses at that point in the Sarabande, and so the question rests unanswered -- is there a musical reason is it just his impulsiveness? Tureck, from memory (so I could be wrong) uses more portato there, at least in her best recording of it -- the one on Great Pianists.

Other examples of Gould's personal  style are the allemande of Partita 1 (all extreme staccato -- why?) and the gigue of Partita 5 -- played at breakneck speed  (why? Because he feels like it?)

I've done the best I can here, but you stubbornly refuse to pay attention and continue to say that Gould is just being impulsive or arbitrary.  You also seem to be clueless concerning the various degrees of staccato.  If you check this out on a piano, you'll hear the differences.  This is your problem, and I hope you resolve it.

About Tureck, I wasn't referring to her particular way with the Sarabande, but part of her general approach to playing Bach.

As for the big "Why", you could bring that up about any performance of any piece of music by any performer or performance group.

What's most important is not why Gould does this or that, but what you think of what he does.  Is your enjoyment enhanced or diminished?  Are Gould's interpretive decisions revelatory to you or not?  Seems to me that you simply don't have much appreciation for the man's decisions, and that's fine.  There are all kinds of interpretations on record to satisfy everyone's tastes.  I've been listening to Bach solo music at least 1 to 2 hours a day for decades; if nothing else, I have learned that there's no right or wrong way.  It's what the performer does with his/her approach that counts.   

[Archaic Torso of Apollo]

I think that if I were required to spend the rest of my life on a desert island, and to listen to or play the music of any one composer during all that time, that composer would almost certainly be Bach.

Maybe, but he also said that his favorite composer was (believe it or not) Orlando Gibbons.

[kishnevi]

My Mitropolous Conducting Mahler set arrived today, and in it, in lieu of liner notes, was a catalogue of West Hill Radio Archives.



Apparently they don't sell directly in the US for copyright reasons, but it's available on AmazonUK and other places

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Glen-Gould-Concert/dp/B004R7Z3L8/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1344132664&sr=1-1

The catalogue includes a complete listing of the perfomances included; if any one wants the list,  PM me.

[Herman]

I think you're way off base.  [...]  Maybe you've been listening too much to the mainstream recordings from artists such as Perahia and Hewitt.

Why are Perahia and Hewitt "mainstream" as opposed to Gould?

Nobody is selling more Bach records than Gould. He is as mainstream as it gets.

Many Bach performers have had to explain to young people why they don't do it the way Gould does.

[Mandryka]

I've done the best I can here, but you stubbornly refuse to pay attention and continue to say that Gould is just being impulsive or arbitrary.  You also seem to be clueless concerning the various degrees of staccato.  If you check this out on a piano, you'll hear the differences.  This is your problem, and I hope you resolve it.

About Tureck, I wasn't referring to her particular way with the Sarabande, but part of her general approach to playing Bach.

As for the big "Why", you could bring that up about any performance of any piece of music by any performer or performance group.

What's most important is not why Gould does this or that, but what you think of what he does.  Is your enjoyment enhanced or diminished?  Are Gould's interpretive decisions revelatory to you or not?  Seems to me that you simply don't have much appreciation for the man's decisions, and that's fine.  There are all kinds of interpretations on record to satisfy everyone's tastes.  I've been listening to Bach solo music at least 1 to 2 hours a day for decades; if nothing else, I have learned that there's no right or wrong way.  It's what the performer does with his/her approach that counts.

There really is no need to be rude.

[Sammy]

There really is no need to be rude.

Sorry about that.  I consider you an intelligent man who knows his music.  With that in mind, I was getting frustrated with your responses.  The fact that I'm going through smoking withdrawl doesn't help; even my wife is avoiding me as if I had the Plague.

[Sammy]

Why are Perahia and Hewitt "mainstream" as opposed to Gould?

Nobody is selling more Bach records than Gould. He is as mainstream as it gets.

Many Bach performers have had to explain to young people why they don't do it the way Gould does.

Based on recordings, I don't find Gould to be a mainstream Bach performer.  Actually, the only pianist that I find strongly similar to Gould in style is Craig Sheppard (especially in his set of the Partitas).

[Sammy]

My condolences. When I quit I was angry for about a year. I had zero patience for anyone or anything. Best of luck to you!

A whole year!!!  I was hoping to feel great in about a week.  I sure need to get my mind straight.

[kishnevi]

And this 2 CD set ..



(more to come)[/font]

acoustic orchestrations?  what's that one about?

[kishnevi]

in a nutshell .. electronic media/studio wizardry .. using microphone placement, multi-tracking etc. ..  in a given space to capture and choreograph different shifting sonic perspectives.

Hmm, thanks.  That sounds like the sort of thing that can be either a grand slam out of the ball park home run, or a complete mess. 

Better put that one on "this might be interesting...." list.

[JerryS]

http://www.youtube.com/v/chHJdmyIiRk

Is this Gould in the process of "Acoustic Orchestration"? When I watched it a few days ago I wondered if he micromanaged all of the mixing to this degree.

[Marc]

[clip]

1:02 [....] it really doesn't have any change of character at all.
Funny, that's what I thought, too. I definitely preferred la prise lente.

I love analog editing btw.
Or better: I love watching it.

[Leo K.]

This is a beautiful thread. Many wonderful contributions here, thanks!