GG Eaton Auditorium

["Junichi Miyazawa" <Junichi_Miyazawa@msn.com>]

Dear Gouldians:

In the liner notes of the newly released the GG Edition 
SMK 52 620, which carries GG's Bach rarities,  Michael 
Stegemann mentions the 1981 recording of the Italian 
Concerto, which unfortunately is not on the disc:

  . . . According to Columbia's Artist Contract Cards, a new 
  recording of the work was due to have been made on 
  August 29 and 30, 1981 (Gould's earlier recording dates 
  from the end of June 1959), although it could not have 
  been made in the auditorium at Eaton's department store, 
  as indicated in these cards, since the latter had been torn 
  down in the spring of 1980.

Coud it not have been made in the Eaton's Auditorium?
What is the source of its being torn down in the spring of 1980?

On the contrary, I have two counterevidences:

1)  . . . With the building of other concert halls in Toronto, 
   its use declined in the 1960s and 1970s, and it was 
   closed in 1976 prior to the Eaton's College Street 
   closure 5 Feb 1977.
        In the ensuing commercial redevelopment of the 
   building, the organ was removed and the auditorium's 
   seating was reduced to 100.  Glenn Gould was the only 
   user of the auditorium at the time.  He had begun to 
   record there in 1971 and continued to do so until 
   August 1981. (*Encyclopedia of Music in Canada*, 
   second edition, 1992, s.v. "Eaton Auditorium")

2) GG letter to Corinne Semon of CBS records 
dated September 9, 1981, which reports the 
account for Eaton Auditorium recording sessions, 
1981 Aug 1-3 (unpublished, found in the database of
the Ottawa GG archives)

I cannot decide which is the case.  Did he record the Italian 
Concerto in Eaton or not?

Regards, 

Junichi