Gould as Conductor

[Allan MacLeod <allan.macleod@usask.ca>]

Dear All,
    The other night I was listening to a performance of the B-Minor Mass
and found myself wondering what Gould would have done with it.  We know
that he did want to record it for the big Bach tricentennial of 1985.
This would have meant that he was recording it before the original
instrument movement had become the new orthodoxy, so my guess would be
that he would have wanted to use a big choir and orchestra and taken it
at a fairly leisurely and monumental pace.  It would have been like a
Messiah done by Macmillan which means a Messiah like Sargent.  I would
like to think that it would have been a performance that I would have
treasured, but based on his recording of the Siegfried Idyll I have my
doubts.  What would have been impressive, I think, would have been
recordings of Strauss' last works--the Songs, the concerto and
Metamorphosen.
    I do not recall Gould expressing any opinion on the original
instrument movement, particularly the way it favoured lighter textures
and faster rhythms.  It seems reasonable to assume that he would have
appreciated its greater transparency and clarity, but at heart I think
he was wedded to the grand old English choral tradition.
    What do others think?  Could he have made the transition from
performer to conductor?  What pieces might he have conducted well?  And
how do orchestras cope with left-handed conductors?
            Allan