Re: Glenn Gould's Sense of Humor

[Sara Meneses <samenese@DU.EDU>]

Hi list:

After some time, I have come to understand GG's humor. I have to say, the
first time I saw that little part in which he sings (I believe a Mahler
symphony) to the elephants in a zoo, I couldn't understand why he was
being so
weird. But later, after seeing other of his stuff, and seeing that zoo
episode again, I thought it was totally hilarious.
And that time in which he said he felt an special bonding between the cows
and him (when he sang to them), that one, has always being a really good
funny one. I haven't really heard him do accents, so I can't say about
that.
I honestly don't know what made me understand him better. I guess when I
saw some older excerpts of shows in which he is younger, seems more
innocent, then it seems easier to
to think of him as funny (er) and I don't know the logic behind that. But
in the 70's after
becoming a concert dropout and when he (in a way) isolated himself more
and cared less about his appearance, and started to age, most people (that
do not understand him) just look at him, and instantly put him under the
weird category, because of the way he dresses and usually then, he just
looks so serious in his pictures. Maybe I understood him better after
watching some excerpts of his shows in the 70's, in which he always has
that special shine in his eyes. No matter how young or old he was, he
always has a special something, that I came to notice even when he was in
his late 40's.

I think GG is funny but he doesn't look like a funny guy. It is after you
listen to him say something maybe ordinary but with a subtle irony,
contradiction or something else that he becomes a funny guy. I guess it is
just in the way he says things.
Maybe my "analysis" seems superficial, but that is all I could come up
with.

Sara.