Re: _A_question_for_all_you_Gouldians

[Dave L <mauve_mojo@YAHOO.COM>]

--- "l.caprotti@libero.it" <l.caprotti@LIBERO.IT>
wrote:
> Hello Michael,
> I would like just to give you a suggestion about
> your "...he is
> practically a god to me..." and other.
> You have to be very very careful.
> Glenn Gould was a very great pianist, I think the
> greatest of the
> history (maybe with V.Horowitz and Arthur
> Rubinstein). But I'm sure not
> the "greatest man...".
> I'm a piano master (from Milano Conservatory) and I
> can tell you that
> Gould was truly a phenomenon of the piano, a very
> sensitive pianist
> (and man).
> But I can tell you more! Have you (or somebody else)
> a recording of
> something really difficult played by Gould? I mean,
> the Emperor
> Concerto is difficult enough, Bach is always very
> difficult for the
> control of multiple voices. But have you played Bach
> and also the
> Wanderer Fantasy for exemple? Or the Chopin's
> Studies? I have a friend
> (he's piano master he too, in the Cremona
> Conservatory) and he tell me
> that Gould had not demonstrated his capacity to play
> the piano. And
> he's not completely wrong.
> However I played his cadenza on 1st Beethoven piano
> concerto. Very good
> music. And quite complicated. But it shows that
> Gould was a greatest
> pianist. But very careful: not a god or greatest
> man!
>
> Ciao
> Lorenzo

Hi Lorenzo,

Yes, I think GG himself would certainly have
difficulty accepting himself as a god, or even
god-like!

I'm sure this has been talked about before in this
group, but I see distinct differences between the
"young Gould" and the "old Gould".

The young Gould of the 50's and 60's is a pianist with
phenomenal technique, but I often struggle to hear any
depth to the music. Take for example the D Major
prelude from the WTK Book I; this piece is played in a
horribly aggressive and entirely inappropriate manner
- I cannot stand to listen to it. I think his
recording of the WTK as a whole is a rather bitter
pill to swallow; and to a lesser degree, the same goes
for the '55 GV. There is always something to be said
for controversial interpretations - but thankfully, it
doesn't mean we have to listen to them. As such, in
his youth, I think his greatest achievement was not in
his recordings or his particular approach to music,
but rather the part he played in keeping alive a
rather neglected repertoire.

The old Gould (within a few years of his death) is a
pianist with the same phenomenal technique, but he
imparts a depth to the music that far surpasses
anything the young Gould did; the re-recording of
"Goldberg Variations" and his piano performances of
"The Art of Fugue" spring to mind. The latter in
particular - here is a man who appears to be playing
as if nothing else matters, literally.

In terms of defining GG's greatness as a musician; I
think it is undeniable. Musically, the young Gould was
brilliant, impetuous and a little immature - but he
made a lot of people sit up and take notice. The old
Gould was a unique pianist and, in Bach, of the very
highest calibre.

Regards,

David Lodge

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