Re: Gould as Christian Existentialist

[André Møllerhaug <andre.mollerhaug@STUDENT.UIB.NO>]

It is beyond any doubt that Gould was a very religous man. And the
"Kierkegaard-connection" is surely an appropriate one. We are here indeed
talking about one portraying himself as "the last purist"...

Though he is doing it in a very "modernist" way.

Another profoundly religious modernist, and a composer Gould took a great
deal of interest in, is Fartein Valen. I believe that Valen and Gould shared
many views on religion.

Valen was absorbed by art, other than music. He especially sought the
religious art of Michelangelo, and the poetry of Walt Whitman. One can say
that he saw "God" in the sublimity of art.

Do we have any information on Gould in this respect? Did he in fact *read*
Kierkegaard?

André Møllerhaug
----- Original Message -----
From: <WKCaine@AOL.COM>
To: <F_MINOR@EMAIL.RUTGERS.EDU>
Sent: Saturday, March 24, 2001 4:40 PM
Subject: Gould as Christian Existentialist


>     I'd like to invite reactions to a thought.
>     I have the definite impression that Glenn Gould was a Christian
> existentialist in the Soren Kierkegaardian mold. First, Gould's affinity
with
> Bach and rejection of Mozart (an Enlightenment figure) suggest a religious
> orientation.  Second, Gould lived like Kierkegaard did, and I suspect
> suffered in much the same way.  Both men put their lives into play,
refusing
> to be "distracted from distraction by distraction," and each faced
existence
> alone with brutal honesty in radical isolation.  Third, Gould was a
puritan
> of sorts and apparently rejected much of modern life.  Gould's poignant
essay
> "Toronto" seems to support this last observation.  The essay ends with an
> expression of revulsion of Toronto's Young Street (the city's porno
district)
> and memories of Sunday evenings in church and the benediction, "Lord, give
us
> the peace that the earth cannot give." The last image is reminiscent of TS
> Eliot's poem, "The Waste Land," where the poet reached a similar
conclusion
> as he turned his back on what he had described.  In a different sort of
way,
> Gould's commencement address on "negation" ("Advice to a Graduation") fits
> the same basic mold, particularly in a Kierkegaardian sense.
>     Finally, this interpretation of Gould might also explain, in a
roundabout
> way, something else we're witnessing nowadays.  The blunt truth is that
many
> people almost love to hate Glenn Gould and go out of their way to put him
> down.  This on the surface is out of proportion.  Why should a mere
deceased
> pianist generate so much reaction and emotion unless he causes profound
> discomfort at the philosophical level?  The current Zeitgeist is intensely
> irreligious; maybe Gould is a painful reminder of what some people wish to
> forget.
>     Now, I quickly and cheerfully admit that the above is highly
speculative
> and subjective, and readers might justifiably think it's "off the wall."
On
> the other hand, my interpretation of Gould is immeasurably more
interesting
> than the psychological drivel that flows from the pens of some of his
> detractors.  The undeniable fact is that Gould marched to different drum
> beat, and my interpretation is consistent with that.  Also, putting Gould
in
> the company of Kierkegaard and Eliot is as high of praise as I can
imagine!
>   W.K. Caine
>