Re: GG:

[Jan Littrell <littrell@interwork.sdsu.edu>]

In all the books and articles I have read about Glenn (with two n's) Gould,
I have only read passing reference to his lack of interest in religion.  I
don't know if his family was Jewish.

I noticed that "wrong" note too!  But with GG, you must assume it was a
deliberate substitution since he was absolutely meticulous about his
recordings -- he simply would not have done this accidentally.  (You can
see him arguing about anything and everything in his interviews and
writings -- his knowledge of music, especially Bach, was positively
encyclopedic.)  And he is known for his anecdotal interpretations of the
preludes and fugures.  I have wondered about this myself, however, and hope
somebody knows why the piece was recorded this way.

Jan Littrell

>    I recently discovered Glen Gould through a friend and have been
>fascinated with him ever since. I have some questions. The first
>concerns Gould's religion. In all the reading I have done, I have never
>seen it mentioned. I curious as to whether or not he is Jewish because
>the name sounds so.
>    The second question regards a wrong note in Book One of "The Well
>Tempered Clavier." In the third prelude, in C-sharp major, in measure 37
>Gould plays a B-natural instead of a B-sharp at the top of the phrase. I
>am not anal-retentive, I am just curious as to whether or not this was
>known to him(Gould), and if so why did he let it slip?
>Thank you for your time on answering these questions.
>
>Sivan Etedgee


Janet L. Littrell, Ed.D.
Administrator, Special Academic Programs
Department of Administration, Rehabilitation and Postsecondary Education
San Diego State University
5500 Campanile Drive
San Diego CA  92182-1127
619/594-0743