Re: GG: Gould & competition

[Gregory T Romero <gregory.romero@yale.edu>]

On Mon, 10 Feb 1997, Alun Severn wrote:

> Dear All,
> 
> Has anyone else noted the contradiction in GG's attitude to competition? He
> loathed competitive behaviour and believed all forms of competition to be
> inherently corrupting; and yet, throughout his life, it is noted that he
> played the stock market -- the prime expression of capitalist competition
> -- extremely successfully....
> 
> Another Gould oddity.


     I think the real contradiction is in that last point, that the stock
market is the prime expression of capitalist competition.  Didn't Gould
declare himself to be a socialist?  Playing the stock market would seem to
be more of a contradiction of his self-proclaimed socialism than a
contradiction of his anti-competition .  It's a point that Friedrich
makes in his book.  Maybe a better example that Friedrich also elaborates
on is Gould's jealousy of Horowitz's fame and the possibly competitive
nature of Gould's choice of recording the Scriabin 3rd and 5th, and the
Prokofiev 7th. >