Re: Lawrence and Gould

[Kate Clunies-Ross <goldbergs@TALK21.COM>]

Anne Chrystine wrote about the similarities between GG and T. E. Lawrence.
This is interesting: I have often noted the same thing, and in fact
discussed it with people off-list, but I dont think it has ever been
mentioned on F-Minor before.

I am not sure if comparisons like this are  actually helpful in any way, or
useful in trying to understand the characters of the men concerned, but they
are quite striking. Perhaps  noticing the similarities in men whose lives
are totally unrelated to each other says more about us, the enthusiasts,
that about the men themselves.

I too have been  "intensely interested" in T.E. Lawrence. ( I get nervous of
the word"obsession" but I imagine my family and friends would nod knowingly
if they heard it used in this context! )  In fact  I used to belong to the
T.E. Lawrence society (yes, there is one.... it was formed before there were
such things as Internet mailing lists!) and some years ago even went on a
trip to Jordan to visit sites associated with his Arabian campaign. The
similarities between Lawrence's  life and Gould's also struck me quite
forcibly, although perhaps some of  of these are  in reality superficial.
I am fully aware that many people think for example that we should only
concern ourselves with Gould'smusic and other work, not the minutia  of his
life and personality.

 But ....Both these men started off with having somewhat unusual mothers.
Again, I dont want to use the word "obsessional" but if the cap fits, as
they say......! Gould's mother seems to have been rather obsessed with the
idea of raising a child to be a great pianist. She also has been described
as having a dominant personality, and being rather puritanical. TEL's mother
was obsessed with religion,  and she also was very strict and puritanical,
attempting to mould her sons personality to agree with hers. It didnt work,
but all his life TEL was very influenced by her ideas, even if he did not
admit it openly and fif his best to shake off this influence. He seems to
have had  a love-hate relationship with his mother, recognising what she had
given him but resenting her power over him. I wonder if GG's feelings were
similar?

In both cases   the father, although a pleasant and intelligent man, seems
to have had far less influence on the son's life.

Both men were highly intelligent.  Both hated school and competition , and
refused to join   sports and games with other children.Both chose to be
loners and never married; they lived in strange, small homes where they
enjoyed isolation witheir books and music; (TEL loved music, especially
Bach, but could not play any instrument)  both were  somewhat "domestically
challenged"   (they could't / wouldn't cook for example. TEL's cottage at
Clouds Hill in Dorset does not even have a kitchen) Both  corresponded
avidly with friends but did not often meet them face-to-face. Neither man
liked to be physically touched. And both died young. (TEL at age 46, on his
motorbike. He loved speeding, evidently like GG!)

Even Lawrence's liking for the desert and  its emptiness can be compared to
Gould's fascination for the Idea of North ....despite the difference in
climate!

One similarity that strikes me in particular is that both made a deliberate
attempt to abandon his "public" life and persona ....Gould by  dropping out
from the concert circuit , and devoting his life to recording and writing
etc, TEL by changing his name after the War , disappearing from public view,
and enlisting in the newly-created RAF in the lowest rank possible. (OK,
enlisting in the forces is  not Gouldian, and was an odd thing to do for
such a loner; but TEL happily admitted he was something of a
masochist....which Gould definitely was not!)

Both enjoyed writing, and even their writing styles seem to me similar in
some ways; a liking for precision in conveying their ideas, but  in a rather
wordy and convoluted style.

And of course both  seem to have had a problem forming close, lasting
relationships. In TELs case, this may have been complicated by the
possibility that he was homosexual (not  so  Gould!!) which in those days
was illegal and considered shameful;  admirers of Lawrence  tend to get hot
under their  collective collars at this suggestion, however, and argue a lot
about it. It's academic, anyway; as far as any researcher knows, he was
celibate all his life and never had a physical relationship with anyone.

A great difference between the two however is that TEL  is famous for
fighting in a war . Glenn Gould would have abhorred this; he was a gentle
creature who tried to avoid conflict, and who, I think had very strong moral
objections to any form of violence, even if  legal and sanctioned by
governments. But you have to judge a man like Lawrence by the times and
society he was born into ; he was born into Victorian England, when it was
accepted that a young man would support his country and if necessary, fight
and die for it. At least he agonised over the fact that he killed people; it
troubled him, even if he considered in unavoidable.

It would be interesting ito imagine a metting between these two.. But
Lawrence died when Gould was about 18 months old.

Is there a definite "type" of personality that seems to invite the creation
of cult status?  Cult; that's another word I personally do not like, but I
have to admit it seems to describe the intensity of interest that surrounds
the memory of both these men.  That recent article in "Grammophone" magazine
tried to analize the reason for the Gould-cult (and failed, in my opinion).
And he recent F-minor discussions about Brendel, Horowitz and Rubinstein
point out that  no "cults" have n  developed around these men that  can
compare in any way with the interest that Gould  continues to generate even
20 years after his death.

I have asked this before, but never received any answer; Are there other
musicians that generate such passionate interest  and devotion as Glenn
Gould?

 To some, the word 'cult' has negative connotations, but I think that in the
case of Glenn Gould this is not deserved;  awareness of his work and a
knowledge of his life I think is a wonderful and beneficial thing.

Kate