If I am not mistaken, something similar to this was done by someone using a computer not too long ago? I think I read somewhere that someone had programmed a computer to play a concert grand and somehow reproduced Glenn's playing without him at the piano, and by doing so had removed the humming. I am not entirely sure about this and I'd have to go searching for this on the internet.
On the other hand, I am also tired of the need to criticize his art simply because he hummed. Lovers of his music NEVER ever complained about Oscar Peterson when he buzzed and hummed (and he COULD sing just as lovely as could be and did so on at least one fantastic recording). Same for Keith Jarrett who hums and stomps his feet and sounds like he's possessed. Same for other pianists who just cannot hold back from being moved to make a sound.
I would instead advocate for a total and complete acceptance of the artistic output. If we want a holistic musical experience (means: without filters) then we should create the means by which we can have that experience. This means just saying "yes" to the whole performance. When saying critical things about a performance I think the humming should be put on the back burner and more focus on things like finger articulation of fugal lines, insightful extrapolation of secondary musical lines brought forward, modern attacks to counterpoint, effective use of extravagant dynamic expressions (ultra soft or loud, ultra fast or slow). Topics such as these steer us closer to the intentions of the performer - at least in the case of a brilliant analyst and spelunker like Gould. In my view.....
Regards,
Fred Houpt
Toronto
[snip]
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