Re: GG listeners (yet another)

["Anne M. Marble" <amarble@abs.net>]

Here's another idea about why Glenn Gould had so many fans among
nonmusicians. (Why do the ideas always come after I send out my first
e-mail?)

It's possible that nonmusicians are more responsive to -- or should that
be susceptible to ;-> -- unorthodox performances. After all, we haven't
been exposed to teachers telling us that a piece should be played "this"
way or that a particular composer should always sound like this. Most of
us haven't already heard several dozen orthodox (orthodoze?) versions of
a piece. Many people with musical training are going to listen to Glenn
Gould, or other iconoclasts, and protest that it shouldn't be done
"that" way. (To be fair, this is true of all fields. I have often read
novels in my fields of expertise and said, "No! It shouldn't be done
that way...")

And yes, it is legitimate to be fascinated by the performer as well as
by the music itself. People are interesting. But few are as interesting
as Glenn Gould. Of course, even if he had been dull, the music would
have been just as good.

Anne M. Marble