Re:Reply to P. Taussig;A. Kazdin's book

[aq094@lafn.org (Eugene Selig)]

A special welcome to someone with firsthand memories of GG. Taussig's 
posting certainly corroborates ALMOST all other accounts of him as being 
a sweet and gentle man. However, there is a book by GG's producer at 
Columbia Records, Andrew Kazdin, called "Glenn Gould at Work-Creative 
Lying," which is at once packed with previously undocumented events, as 
well as providing descriptions of GG as anything but pleasant. (I don't 
know whether this book has been mentioned before, but since there are 
always newcomers to f_minor, I bring it up here.)
 
Since GG cannot reply to this book published about a decade after his 
death, one must draw conclusions based on a one-sided account, but it
would appear that GG treated Kazdin with such unprecedented and 
uncharacteristic contempt that it seems he had a really dark side. The 
occurrences written about are quite believable, as they arose in the 
course of a mostly business rather than artistic relationship. I would 
like to hear feed-back from some of the group about this book. Those of 
us who discount character flaws because there is so much to love in the 
creative output and artistic charisma will read the book for the purpose 
of feeding his curiosity about GG. Others may allow the book to bring 
him down a few (or many) notches. Whatever Kazdin's purpose was in 
writing this book, whether he needed to unload some old resentments, or 
actually wanted to deflate GG to his fans, is up to the reader to ponder.  

(To Peter: You have an appropriate surname for a pianist. Are you related 
to the famouse Carl Tausig, with slightly different spelling?)

Can I add one more comment about GG and Mozart? It has been stated in
certain sources that there are similarities between their lives, in that 
both did not receive training to prepare them for real-life situations. 
M. was given musical instruction by his father, and GG by his mother. 
Each were extraordinarily gifted, totally absorbed to the exclusion of 
concern for matters that press on most ordinary people. We know how 
involved GG was when playinto maintain his detachment from the world. 
 M. described the feeling when he was composing as though someone outside 
 
 himself was putting dowm the notes. It has even 
been said that the many children that WAM and Constanze had actually died 
from neglect, caused by the couple's simple ignorance.