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RE: [F_minor] Glenn Gould

As I mentioned, I think Leonard Bernstein had as great an impact - or greater - on the music world. Not to minimize Glenn.....


At 07:32 PM 1/23/2008, Singh wrote:
I do not doubt that many geniuses have emerged in many fields since Gould's time. But has any one of them had a similar impact that Glenn Gould had on the musical world? Perhaps what I meant is not that one will emerge, but that there is now room for one more, to help revitalize Glenn Gould's message. Perhaps a Gouldofski? ;)

Singh

> Date: Tue, 22 Jan 2008 15:05:06 -0500
> To: bobmerk@earthlink.net; F_MINOR@EMAIL.RUTGERS.EDU
> From: pwiener@ms.cc.sunysb.edu
> Subject: Re: [F_minor] Glenn Gould
>
> Chester hopes for a new Gould-like figure to emerge. If you hope and
> look hard enough, one WILL emerge - possibly on American Idol. That's
> not the way charismatic geniuses make their mark, however. Such
> figures are always a surprise! Gould emerged out of his times ,
> before the internet, before Bach was brilliantly interpreted and
> performed by many other pianists, before a world that worships
> celebrity, less than half a century after the birth of the recording
> industry, and before a world where good music can be dialed up on
> cell phones. Like any unique creative genius, he was there at the
> right time, when we needed him most, not when we wanted him. He was
> there to usher in a new era of music as a technology. If there is a
> backlash against Gould developing, it's probably thanks in part to
> the many fans who have hungrily overhyped him and to our wishful
> tendency to separate musical experience from mental experience. Two
> recent books explore the neurological aspects of musical memory and
> reception, and will help us learn why we hear what we hear: Oliver
> Sacks' Musicophilia, and Daniel Levitin's This Your Brain on Music.
>
> Since his death many other geniuses have emerged in many of the arts
> (let's not forget his contemporary Leonard Bernstein).
>
> At 02:19 PM 1/22/2008, Robert Merkin wrote:
> >I think the question lurking beneath Chester's question is: Who are we?
> >
> >Are we people simply and honestly mesmerized with Glenn Gould's
> >achievements and life?
> >
> >Or have we also assumed the responsibility of evangelizing and
> >proselytising Glenn Gould to the Great Unwashed (particularly to
> >teenagers and college students)? Are we also the active guardians
> >and apostles of his legacy? Are we draymen hauling Glenn Gould into the future?
> >
> >Does it suffice to kick back, disconnect the phone, and listen to an
> >hour of Byrd and Gibbons on a nice stereo in a comfortable chair?
> >
> >Or are we morphing into people who knock on the doors of strangers
> >and offer them a chatty, upbeat introduction to Glenn Gould, and
> >some full-color pamphlets, or a free DVD?
> >
> >I don't know ... take Caruso as an example. After he died, how
> >important was an army of his surviving admirers to making him an
> >idol and superstar of the recorded music era? Or does Caruso keep
> >hurtling into the future for the inherent content of his squawky
> >cylinders alone?
> >
> >For his entire career, from bobbysoxer teen phenom to death, Sinatra
> >attended obsessively to his fan base -- personal letters and cards,
> >personally autographed photos to any fan who asked, numerous
> >in-person visits to local fan clubs. One high-class magazine article
> >about this -- possibly Esquire -- felt that, beyond Sinatra's
> >inherent great talents, his attention to the folks in the audience
> >played a great role in his ultimate success. (Remember Dick Haymes?
> >Eddy Fisher survives today pretty entirely on his marriage to Debby
> >Reynolds and Elizabeth Taylor. Maybe they weren't taking care of the fans.)
> >
> >It seems to me that an artist's path to the future is pretty much a
> >crapshoot, and depends on the arbitary whims and accidents of
> >society and industry, of economic and legal forces. There's a six or
> >seven year Hole in the middle of Prince's most creative years during
> >which he and Warners were having intractible contract disputes --
> >the world was pretty much denied access to any new work, and he
> >intentionally fought back by not working.
> >
> >Or perhaps poor product placement -- somebody takes Gene Kelly's
> >delightful, charming, innocent "Singin' in the Rain" and gives it an
> >indelible association with brutal sociopathic teenagers (one of whom
> >sincerely loves Beethoven).
> >
> >I don't know, dare we let Glenn find his own path to the future
> >without too much of our active help and interference? Perhaps this
> >is the moment to stop taking worlwide popularity polls, which
> >strikes me as being a lot like tracking cocoa futures?
> >
> >Of course it's a pleasure equal to music itself to share beautiful
> >music with others. But, of just the performances, can we trust in
> >their inherent power to keep Glenn Gould as popular with future
> >listeners as Caruso? Or do we need to shower them with ballyhoo and
> >comments left on YouTube? Do we have a mission, and how consonant
> >would our mission seem to the dead gentleman himself? "32 Short
> >Films" plays with these themes of the relations between Glenn Gould
> >and the Outside World. They were very complicated.
> >
> >Bob
> >Massachusetts USA
> >
> >
> >
> > > [Original Message]
> > > From: paul wiener <pwiener@ms.cc.sunysb.edu>
> > > To: Singh <k_dawg71@hotmail.com>; Brad Lehman <bpl@umich.edu>;
> > <f_minor@email.rutgers.edu>
> > > Date: 1/22/2008 11:13:52 AM
> > > Subject: Re: [F_minor] Glenn Gould
> > >
> > > This would be more or less upsetting if some facts came with it.
> > >
> > >
> > > At 11:48 AM 1/20/2008, Singh wrote:
> > >
> > > >Just two days ago, my teacher told me something extremely troubling.
> > > >Ratings of Glenn Gould's recordings have gone done alot in the past
> > > >short while. This, for me, points out the resurgence of everything
> > > >Glenn Gould philosophically tried to disprove. It shows the
> > > >resurgence of traditionalism, and an increased taste for
> > > >traditionalist recordings from the general public.
> > > >I just thought everyone should know. However, this also gives an
> > > >opportunity for another Glenn Gould-like figure to emerge. And we
> > > >can only hope,
> > > >
> > > >Chester Singh
> >+
>
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