Glenn Gould: A Life and Variations
by Otto Friedrich
On This Page
Description
"Few performing artists of this century have been the focus of as much admiration, speculation and criticism as the pianist Glenn Gould. He was a prodigy, performing concerti with major orchestras before his fifteenth birthday. He was an eccentric, singing along at his own recitals, often appearing in midsummer clad in a woolen topcoat, mittens and scarf. He was a brilliant teacher, author, lecturer and documentary maker; few have been such magnificent proselytizers for the glories of music. show more But what truly captured the public's imagination about Glenn Gould was not his fame; it was his abrupt retreat from that fame. Nine years after his 1955 recording of Bach's Goldberg Variations propelled him to unequaled heights of critical and popular acclaim, Gould decided never to play the piano before a live audience again. While he continued to produce a series of extraordinary recordings until his untimely death from stroke at the age of fifty in 1982, Gould's fears, contempt for concert halls and obsessive fascination with the possibilities of recording technology prevented him from ever performing in public again. Glenn Gould: A Life in Variations is an intimate portrait of an isolated, lonely genius who behaved in a manner some might consider mad. Drawing on countless interviews and with access to never-before-available letters and documents at the Gould Archives in Ottawa, Otto Friedrich has produced the definitive biography of a brilliant and troubled soul."--Book jacket. show lessTags
Recommendations
Member Reviews
Members
- Recently Added By
Author Information
25+ Works 2,430 Members
Awards and Honors
Common Knowledge
- People/Characters
- Glenn Gould
- Important places
- Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Royal Conservatory of Music, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- First words
- The television cameras came to watch the memorial service for Glenn gould, to observe everything and to record everything that they observed.
Classifications
- Genres
- Music, Biography & Memoir, Nonfiction, General Nonfiction
- DDC/MDS
- 786.1 — Arts & recreation Music Keyboard, mechanical, electrophonic, percussion instruments General principles, musical forms, instruments
- LCC
- ML417 .G68 .F7 — Music Literature on music Literature on music History and criticism Biography
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 175
- Popularity
- 188,177
- Rating
- (3.86)
- Languages
- English, German, Portuguese
- Media
- Paper
- ISBNs
- 11
- ASINs
- 2
