GG and Competition and Showing Off

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

What do you think of Glenn Gould's opinions concerning
competition? For example, the way he regarded musical
competition as a blood sport? (And for that matter, the way
he still managed to compete in other parts of his life, such
as when he played Twenty Questions?) I seem to recall one
of the biographers theorizing that despite his views on
competition and showing off in the music world, Glenn Gould
really did "show off" by playing so well. But to me, that's
like saying Da Vinci showed off because he painted hands so
wonderfully.

Piano competitions, particularly major ones such as the
International Tchiakovsky Piano Competition, get a lot of
press -- but what do musicians really think of them?

In the music world, for once, Glenn Gould is not alone in
his views -- and I'm not surprised. Today, on A&E's
Breakfast with the Arts, I saw an interview with Cipa and
Mischa Dichter. Years ago, Mischa Dichter had won a silver
medal in a famous piano competition. The host asked him
about his views on competition now, and he said, "It's
inhuman." Wow, shades of Glenn Gould! (He said something
else before that, but unfortunately, I forgot what it was.
Did anybody else see it?) He also admitted that luck had a
large part of it. It was a refreshing attitude overall.