“It is hard to grapple with an existing social order, but it is harder still to posit one that does not exist.” I like to imagine the young Glenn Gould reading these words of Hugo von Hofmannsthal, the Austrian playwright, and then setting out to accomplish both. This little fantasy of mine is , of course, just the sort of Romantic-individual-idealizing to which Gould was so firmly opposed. However, Gould did grapple with the “existing social order,” and he did propose another to posit in its place. And Gould was a great individual about whom legends revolve, and apocrypha accumulates. There is a paradox to Glenn Gould: that of the great individual whose greatest desire is to downplay and eliminate the elevated status of the individual in our culture. Getting to know Gould is attempting to resolve this paradox. In many ways Gould is a Thoreauvian character. He wanted to be “in the world without being of the world.” Consequently many of Gould’s critics focus on his seemingly idiosyncratic behavior. There seems to be more interest applied to the clothes he wore, his diet, his gait, his sleeping habits (“‘was he a monk?” etc.) than there is interest in his thought. To those who spend the time to investigate his thought, Gould can appear extremely disturbing. He was, like most poets, an idealist. He believed in the perfectibility of man. He, like the Canadian theologian and philisopher Jean LeMoyne, who he very much respected, believed in the charity of the machine, and planet of the arts vol 3 noi As a pianist Gould made his New York debut in 1955, at the age of 23. The following day he signed an exclusive recording contract with Columbia Records. Later that year he recorded J.S. Bach’s Goldberg Variations. The album’s release was greeted with universal acclaim, and in 33 years it has never been out of print. The recording served to establish Gould as one of the preeminent musicians of his day. Gould’s second recording was, in my opinion, even more of a landmark in his career. The second album consisted of Beethoven’s three last sonatas. Of this recording, the critic Harold Schonberg (one of Gould’s most ridiculous detractors, a Pulitzer-prize-winning Rona Barret of the music world) writes that the interpretations “all but started lynching parties among musicians, so mannered and outré were they.” That Gould had managed to rethink these pieces and imbue them with a feeling that was uniquely his own amounted to nothing less than iconoclasm. The album was as widely panned as it was praised. It seemed that what Gould failed to display was an intrepid flirtation with the genius of the Great Composer. In many ways Beethoven was to become a haunting figure in Gould’s repertoire. An undeniable attraction to the man’s music seemed to struggle in Gould’s mind with an aversion to the composer’s enormous stature in Western Culture. Beethoven, after all, provides one but by the time he left he had become, ironically, a legend. Stories of Gould’s performances are passed on from teacher to student onwards. Harold Schonberg, in his inimitable People Magazine style, reports on this Russian fascination in “The Great Pianists”: “Just as Bobby Fischer was a chess legend after he conquered Boris Spassky in Reykjavik in 1972, so Gould has remained a legend among those who never even heard him play. To his generation he still represents revolt against authority, contempt for the Establishment. This is especially true in Russia, where Gould is revered. Any pianist or piano specialist who visits the Soviet Union is besieged by Russian pianists wanting to know everything about Glenn Gould. They have as many of his records as can be purchased, borrowed, stolen, copied or pirated. They have copies of his television appearances. They imitate his physical mannerisms and model their Bach | interpretations after his, and they believe him to be the most stimulating musician of his time.” Perhaps the highlight of Gould’s Russian tour was a lecture recital he gave at the Moscow Conservatory on the Second Viennese School of Ccomposers (Schonberg, Berg, Webern, and in the second generation, Krenek). This music was ng Zot a various theories regardin of new-kid-on-the-block perceived music as havit to the technology of reps like Zarathustra descend mountain, he proclaime new art and a new artist- could construct his musi afforded by and with the of the recording studio. proclaimed that forthwit individual in music will to the degree of anonym artist by his removal fro: a corollary of this situati vehicle of musical comr forced into extinction bj infeasibility, and by the displeasure with the inh and limitations to which take-two-ness” of the cc the hysteria and tension sober reflection upon th musical performance at Gould perceived that further developments th music and technology b strange-bed-fellows. Th the music created by ne as the computer-synthes away from trying to mit acoustic instruments an their own world of soun one which is distinctly < thinking considering th average listener, was th would be provided with computer oriented) whi to splice, filter, and wit other subjective choice: performer’s reading of ; Thereby the initial perf would become gradual] importance. By elimina y eliminating the high-relief in which the individual artist is set, by infringing on his artistic estate, the type of hero-worship which has become the backbone of which the individual art on his artistic estate, the which has become the t the potential benificience of the technological age. At times I feel that these ideas hang around like a modernist hangover. What Gould does though, and it remains the undying criterion for great works of art, is, in the words of Jean LeMoyne, to “set up a cosmos with a sense of sin and a sense of redemption in order to have created a sense of value in his artwork.” Gould once said “McLuhan is the message and I am the medium.” His life was acted out like a training lesson that creates a plea for us to stand up as adults and accept our responsibility to guide ourselves into the future, rather that being whisked into it by forces beyond our control. our culture can gradually be eliminated. of the ultimate paradigms of the great individual. The figure of Beethoven served to encapsulate in a single person the very elements of Western Culture to which Gould felt morally opposed, and into which he was inextricably drawn. Beethoven in Gould’s own words was “‘the supreme historical example of the composer on an ego trip.” In 1957 Gould became the first North American pianist to make a tour of the U.S.S.R.. He arrived in virtual anonymity, officially proscribed at the time, and supposedly symbolic of Western Decadence. In a wonderful twist of fate, a recording of this lecture-recital has recently been released on the Russian Melodia label. By the time Gould returned to North America he was firmly ensconced as one of the most sought after performers on the world’s stages. Seven years later, only nine years after his concert career began, Gould left the concert stages never to return. The music world’s reaction to Gould’s decision was anger, shock, and, in retrospect, a degree of dismay. This brings us to a second aspect of Gould’s career, that of the music theorist. I should define what I mean by that term. I am not referring to the scores of lucid analyses he applied to everything from Bach fugues to the pop songs of Petula Clark. What I am referring to are his theories regarding the role of music in our lives and the lives of future generations. At the center of his culture can gradually bs of the individual—at le eventually disappear. Gould believed that t altering the course of m creating a more musica With a radio, a televisic system in every househ piped through telephon waiting-rooms and sho} man now living in a ne’ conceived of musical ei bound to arise a mass 0 educated in the vast cli history. Once the new | this manner, our way 0 individual styles of mu change. Tonal music w right to speak to the mc music; aleatoric music concept as contrapunta which Gould foresaw i and there is no longer a group leading the musi This new situation wv the way in which we ac of art. We would no lo of music valuable in ac relationship to the near society. I call this Gou Historical-Continuity 1 simply, that a work of under the condition of to illuminate some aspi bears illumination. Ou “Tt is hard to grapple with an existing social order, but it is harder still to posit one that does not exist.” ike to imagine the young Glenn Gould reading these words of Hugo von Hofmannsthal, the Austrian playwright, and then setting out to accomplish both. This litle Fantasy of mine is , of course, just the sort of Romantic-individual-idealizing to ‘which Gould was so firmly opposed. However, Gould did grapple withthe “existing social order,” and he did propose ‘another to postin its place. And Gould was ‘a great individual about whom legends revolve, and apocrypha accumulates. There is a paradox to Glenn Gould: that ofthe great individual whose greatest desire is to downplay and eliminate the elevated status of the individual in our culture. Getting to know Gould is attempting to resolve this paradox. In many ways Gould is a Thoreauvian character. He wanted to be “in the world without being ofthe world.” Consequently ‘many of Gould’s critics focus on his seemingly idiosyncratic behavior. Thet seem to be more interest applied to the clothes he wore, his diet, his gait, his sleeping habits (“was he a monk?” etc.) than there is interest in his thought. To those who spend the time o investigate his thought, Gould ‘ean appear extremely disturbing. He was, like most poets, an idealist. He believed in the perfectbility of man. He, like the ‘Canadian theologian and philisopher Jean LeMoyne, who he very much respected, believed inthe charity of the machine, and the potential benificience ofthe technological ‘age. At times I feel that these ideas hang, ‘around like a modernist hangover. What ‘Gould does though, and it remains the undying criterion for great works of at, is, in the words of Jean LeMoyne, to “set up a cosmos witha sense of sin and a sense of redemption in order to have created a sense of value in his anwork.” Gould once said “MeLuhan is the message and I am the medium.” His life was acted out like a ‘raining lesson that creates a plea for us to stand up as adults and accept our responsibility to guide ourselves into the future, rather that being whisked into it by forces beyond our contro. > planet oft [As pianist Gould made his New York ‘debutin 1955, atthe age of 23. The following day he signed an exclusive recording contract with Columbia Records. Later that year he recorded J.S. Bach's Goldberg Variations. “The album's release was greeted with ‘universal acclaim, and in 33 yeas it has never been out of print. The recording served to establish Gould as one of the preeminent musicians of his day. Gould's second recording was, in my opinion, even more of ‘landmark in is career. The second album consisted of Beethoven's thre lst sonatas. Of this recording, the cic Harold Schonberg (one of Gould's most ridiculous detractors, a Politzee-prize-winning Rona Barret ofthe music world) writes thatthe interpretations all but started lynching parties among ‘musicians, so mannered and outré were ey." That Gould had managed to rethink these pieces and imbue them with a feeling ‘hat was uniquely his own amounted 9 nothing less than iconoclasm. The album was as widely panned sit was praised. It seemed that what Gould failed to display was an intrepid liation wit the genius of the Great Composer. In many ways Beethoven was to become a haunting figure in Gould's reper. An undeniable attraction tothe man’s music seemed to struggle in Gould's mind with an aversion to the composer's enormous stature in Western Culture: Beethoven afterall, provides one but by the time he let he had become, ironically, a legend. Stories of Gould's performances are passed on from teacher to student onwards. Harold Schonberg, in his inimitable People Magazine styl, reports on this Russian fascination in “The Great Pianists” “Just as Bobby Fischer was a chess legend after he conquered Boris Spassky in Reykjavik in 1972, so Gould has remained a legend among those who never even heard him play. To his generation he still represents revolt against authority, ‘contempt forthe Establishment. Th especially true in Russia, where Gould is revered. Any pianist or piano specialist ‘who visits the Soviet Union is besieged by Russian pianists wanting to know everything about Glenn Gould. They have as many of his records as ean be purchased, borrowed, stolen, copied or pirated. They have copies of his television appearances. They imitate his physical ‘mannerisms and model their Bach interpretations after his, and they believe him to be the most stimulating musician of his time, Perhaps the highlight of Gould’s Russian tour was a lecture recital he gave at the Moscow Conservatory on the Second Viennese School of Ccomposers (Schonberg, Berg, Webern, and inthe second. generation, Krenek). This music was y eliminating the high-relief in which the individual artist is set, by infringing on his artistic estate, the type of hero-worship which has become the backbone of our culture can gradually be eliminated. of the ultimate paradigms ofthe great individual. The figure of Beethoven served toencapsulate in a single person the very ‘elements of Western Culture to which Gould felt morally opposed, and into which he was inextricably drawn. Beethoven in Gould’s ‘own words was “the supreme historical ‘example of the composer on an ego tip.” In 1957 Gould became the first North American pianist to make a tour of the U.S.S.R... He arrived in virtual anonymity, offically proscribed atthe time, and supposedly symbolic of Western Decadence. In a wonderful twist of fate, a recording of this lectre-recital has recently been released ‘on the Russian Melodia label. By the time Gould returned to North America he was firmly ensconced as one of. the most sought after performers on the ‘world’s stages. Seven years later, only ni ‘years after his concert career began, Gould left the concert stages never to return, The ‘music world’s reaction to Gould's decision ‘was anger, shock, and, in retrospect, a degree of dismay. ‘This brings us to a second aspect of Gould's career, that of the music theorist. 1 should define what I mean by that term. [am not referring tothe scores of lucid analyses hie applied to everything from Bach fugues to the pop songs of Petula Clark. What lam referring to are his theories regarding the role of music in our lives and the lives of future generations. At the center of his Dna got various theories regardin ‘of new-kid-on-the-block perceived music as havi to the technology of reps like Zarathustra descend ‘mountain, he proclaime: new art and a new artist: could construct his musi afforded by and with the of the recording studi proclaimed that forthwit dividual in music will to the degree of anonym artist by his removal fro a corollary of this situa vehicle of musical comr forced into extinction by infeasibility, and by the displeasure with the inh ‘and limitations to which take-two-ness” of the ec the hysteria and tension sober reflection upon th ‘musical performance at Gould perceived that further developments th music and technology b strange-bed-fellows. Th the musie created by ne as the computer-synthe away from trying to mi acoustic instruments an their own world of sour ‘one whieh is distinety thinking considering th average listener, was th would be provided with ‘computer oriented) whi tosplice, filter, and wit other subjective choices performer's reading of ‘Thereby the initial perf ‘would become graduall importance. By elimin ‘which the individual at on his artistic estate, the which has become thet culture can gradually b ‘of the individual —at le ‘eventual disappear. ‘Gould believed that altering the course of n creating a more musica With a radio, a televisi system in every househ piped through telephon \aiting-rooms and sho ‘man now living ina ne ‘conceived of musical e bound to arise a mass o educated in the vast eli history. Once the new this manner, our way 0 individual styles of mu change. Tonal music » Fight to speak to the me music; aleatoric music coneept as contrapunta which Gould foresaw i is no longer group leading the musi This new situation the way in which we a of art, We would no lo cof music valuable in ac relationship to the near society. [call this Gou Historical-Continuty simply, that a work of under the condition of toilluminate some asp bears illumination. Ou 6