Re: GG listeners

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

I definitely qualify as a non-musician in the extreme sense. I blame
that on a nasty first-grade music teacher who used to yell at me because
I didn't sing loudly enough during the sing-alongs. (It might have
helped if she had taught us the musical scale first so I knew what I was
doing!) Despite this, I might have some latent "musical genes" -- my
grandfather was a musician who played in bistros in France. (Not exactly
a classical musician, but obviously, he had some sort of innate
ability.)

I don't listen to Glenn Gould simply because of his personality. If that
were true, I'd be a huge Helfgott fan. Yes, I bought the Shine
soundtrack and one other Helfgott CD -- and I felt "snookered"
afterwards. I enjoyed the movie, and I feel sorry for Helfgott himself,
but that's about it. Sure, I find Glenn Gould fascinating as a person.
Who wouldn't? Yet when I listen to his music, I'm usually not thinking
about his famous eccentricities. For one thing, I'm usually too busy
driving the car or typing a document to worry about those things. Most
of the time, it's only the music that's there. (Yes, I can listen to
most Gould recordings and write or edit at the same time.)

Before I listened to Glenn Gould, I did listen to other classical
musicians. Even when I was a teenager. (Admitting that can get you in
trouble in high school!) For the most part, I listened to Romantic
music -- loud Romantic music, like Tchiakovsky. For years after college,
my favorite piece was Berlioz's "Symphonie Fantasique," of all things!
The reason I liked this type of music was because these pieces sounded
like they would make great soundtracks. I'm a writer, so I liked the
idea of listening to music that made me think of an exciting story
unfolding in my head. (On a similar note, I also liked the plot behind
"Symphonie Fantasique.") Before long, I grew bored with this sort of
thing. After all, you should listen to music because you like the music,
not because you like the plot. (My writing got better at that time, too.
Coincidence? Maybe not.)

When I started listening to Glenn Gould, I realized I was listening to
the music itself instead of loud, "action-packed" songs. What a
difference it makes! OK, I don't have the "musical" vocabulary to
explain what I can hear, but I know I'm enjoying it. I have also learned
that I can tell the difference between mediocre budget recordings and
great recordings. Even though I am a non-musician, I can appreciate the
music. Also, listening to Glenn Gould has made me a better listener. (Of
course, reading the discussions on this list has helped, too.)

When I first listened to Glenn Gould, I didn't appreciate everything
right away. I listened to the second movement of his Hoyden Sonata in C
Major, which was on the "Images" CD. And I wasn't sure if I liked it --
I almost preferred the Ax recording I'd heard on a Sony collection.
After listening to the Gould version enough times, though, I grew to
love the piece. Recently, I heard the Ax version, and I was bored by it.
So what was different about the Gould version? I'm not sure. Maybe
somebody can tell me!

Sorry if this has run on too long. Hope it helps!

Anne M. Marble

-----Original Message-----

>Dear f_minor.
>
>I want to ask if anyone on the list is a non musician (I mean in the
extreme
>sense: barely able or unable to read music etc. not in the profesional
>sense).
>I would be interested to hear what it is that attracts you to the
recordings
>of Glenn Gould, and why you like listening to him, as opposed to
another
>famous pianist in the same work. From what I have heard many
non-musicians
>have large collections of Gould recordings and have been wondering what
>exactly draws them to his playing. Most musicians presumably like his
>playing for the sheer originality of interpretation (or at least I do,
>perhaps some will disagree) and the difference from accepted styles of
>playing. Surely this does not come across to a non-musician, so what is
it
>that draws them into it?
> After the film Shine, many bought the recordings of Helfgott, purely
>down to the publicity of his madness and the film 'Shine'. Although I
don't
>like to compare Gould (undoubtedly a genius) to such a, frankly, poor
>pianist as Helfgott I was wondering whether Gould's eccentricities and
the
>resulting publicity had/have a similar influence on the non-musicians
and
>caused his popularity among them. I hope someone will tell me I am
wrong to
>suggest so, but I find it curious that other geniuses such as Claudio
Arrau
>(to name but one example) has never acheived a similar 'cult'
following,
>despite great respect from musicians.
>
>I would be intersted to know what people think,
>
>Andrew Thayer.
>