Q about 32 Short Films

[Katherine Lee <klee@dna.bc.ca>]

>Actually, I had another question.  In 32 Short Films about Glenn Gould,
>does anyone remember the piece that was being played during that segment
>where all you see is the inside of his piano and the keys hammering onto
>the strings?  That was my favorite part in the whole film... Thanks

From the screenplay of _Thirty-two Short Films About Glenn Gould_ (by
François Girard & Don McKellar), which I loved reading as much as I loved
seeing the film:

CD 318

INT. DAY. PIANO.

The roar of a crowd, carried over from the previous scene, slowly fades away.

As the first note of Bach's Prelude #2 from _The Well Tempered Clavier_ is
heard, we find ourselves within the piano itself.  The camera studies the
minute workings of the piano's interior; the flying hammers, the dampers
rising and falling, the strings vibrating when struck.

Gradually we move out of the piano and study its exterior --- the gleam of
varnished wood, the gold Steinway plate and the serial number, CD 318, that
identifies the Steinway that Gould preferred over all others.  The music
ends.

Beginning from a close-up of the piano's exterior --- the entire frame
filled with the wood of the piano's side --- we begin a slow dolly away
from the piano, moving towards the back of the stage.  Gradually it is
revealed that the immense auditorium is completely empty.  The camera
reaches the back of the stage as two workmen in coveralls move into frame
and begin to gently cover the piano and move it offstage.

The lights in the auditorium shut off, one by one.