Glenn Gould plays Scarlatti Sonata in G major K 13 L 486

[jonjon1957jonjon]

Talking of a Spanish suit I have some rather nice clothes from Adolfo Dominguez.

[aeromech84]

I don't know if Spain has classical music. Just imagine, Spanish concerto or Spanish suit??? wonder what would the music be!!!

[lacheeky123]

@aeromech84 derp?

[30inventionman]

This guy is a genius of performance. Everything he ever recorded has been perfect note for note but in his own interpretation. delightful man gould. Happy Birthday , we love you.

[keesvangulik127]

I think, there is a lot of Spain in his music, and some sonatas even have a Flamenco feel to them. I played sonata K.380-L.23 always as if it was a Flamenco piece.

[EtoGmajor]

@keesvangulik127 Scarlatti lived in Spain for something like the last 25 years of his life and he picked up the flamenco style.

[keesvangulik127]

@EtoGmajor Yes, I knew that. He was the teacher of Queen Maria Barbara, who lived from 1711 till 1758. Did you know he was quite a gambler and had debts regurarly?

The famous Farinelli, who was one of his friends helped him to pay some of them.

[BrucknerMotet]

@ms54302 I agree. If I may be permitted to say that Gould's interpretation of K13 L486 replaces the "Italian" of Scarlatti with something of Gould, that's how I'd put it. A splendid and fairly non-urgent late morning ride on horseback through a fine Italian countryside, reinterpreted as a brisk morning stroll -- swaddled in overcoats and gloves and thus snug in the joyous philosophical reflections of an undisturbed itinerant.

[MrCinemuso]

@BrucknerMotet

Not sure if I completely agree... - but great comment nonetheless!

[framaulo]

Lovely rendition! If the Angels play somewhere in Heaven, that is their soundtrack.

[AnyPortInTheStorm]

Gould was a GENIUS- and EXCENTRIC...He did his records BAREFOOT!

[1AdrianR]

@AnyPortInTheStorm Eccentric

[Amunhotep4th]

I am mostly accustomed to hearing Scarlatti played on a harpsichord. I do like his interpretation but I've heard much of Scarlatti's work by Landowska and Puyana But Gould's rendition of Scarlatti is well more than acceptable.

[Noshirm]

Wow....Glenn Gould's playing, in ANY genre, being compared with those of such arrivistes as Pogorelich and relative unknowns as Ross....oh well! Gould's reputation speaks for itself. Fine playing here - thanks for this post!

[felixjakens]

@Noshirm Scott Ross may be relatively unknown, partly because he died tragically young, but he was a brilliant player of Scarlatti among other things. He recorded all the sonatas. I agree about Pogorelich, and others including Lang Lang: terrible, he's know in the trade as Bang Bang!

[Noshirm]

@felixjakens Fair enough, and agreed on the two clowns. (:-D)

[1AdrianR]

@felixjakens I agree

[ms54302]

As always there is much to admire about anything Gould plays. Yet despite my admiration for him, I don't care for the way he plays Scarlatti. Perhaps I am too accustomed to Pogorelich (the absolute standard) or Scott Ross.  There is a certain abandonment missing along and I found myself wishing for a hint of jazz in the off-beat accents. Gould was an incredible musician, but I wish he had been able to drop his strict Presbyterian background and play with a little more zest and sensuality.

[MrTIRILLY]

Tout est irrésistible, GOULD, SCARLATTI. On n'est pas près d'aller se coucher !

[paulostroff99]

awesome TY Candy

[fredericfranc]

He plays this just like his Bach. The man is a machine, but it comes out OK, because all the other people sound different, so you get something unique.

[FrankMazeppa]

T-Mobile jingle 0:09 and throughout. :)

[lovesGenet]

Chopin unlike Liszt did not like Beethoven. This is quoted over and over but the opening interval of bflat minor is same. I wonder if maybe at some point Liszt taught him a little about Beethoven's genius .The amazing thing as Elsa Perenyi points out in her Liszt bio is how little those around these two ever wrote about their music. I think Chopin must have reappraised Beethoven's music at some point in his life.Strange the letters tell us so little. Gould's Scarlatti - yuuck.

[illegalsmirf]

Why did Gould moan like a monkey while playing? Was he an evolutionary 'missing link'? The Lord Jesus wants to know. Thnx :)

[luisjochoa]

@illegalsmirf Real Christians never use the name of their Lord in a superficial or ironic way for His Name means the purest feelings… I wonder why other people do…envy? fear to be "excluded" from something? insecurity about their own culture? …i wonder...

[luisjochoa]

Real Christians never use the name of their Lord in a superficial or ironic way for His Name means the purest feelings… I wonder why other people do…envy? fear to be "excluded" from something? insecurity about their own culture? …i wonder...

[KABRIS1]

@illegalsmirf I guess for the same reason that you made a comment that a monkey

would make.

[japanesesweet]

i wish Gould had recorded more Scarlatti-it sounds as if he likes the composer.

The tempo is slower than the norm but feels just right with his laserbeam precision.

[ettml]

i can't imagine Gould actually liking scarlatti, i think this was recorded as part of a parody album of Horowitz's famous comback, a pianist Gould really disliked

[japanesesweet]

True, he once wrote rather disparaging comments about Scarlatti but you never know what to believe with Gould-his pianism seems well suited to this composer. His rare foray into Chopin by contrast,is a disaster-more like Czerny.

[EMPERORMIKI]

I don't this his "foray" into Chopin was a disaster—unlike your reasoning (which I assume has to do with that "fact" that Gould can only play Bach).

The strongest of Chopin's sonatas is his second—the others are trash. Like most of his work. I think thats more likely why he didn't perform much Chopin.

[japanesesweet]

Gould`s pianism wasn`t only suited to Bach- -certainly not my reasoning eg.I very much like some of his Brahms.

Gould recorded the 3rd,not 2nd of Chopin so I don`t follow what you say.

[EMPERORMIKI]

I know he only recorded the 3rd—it is my opinion that the 2nd is the strongest.

The one okay movement of the 3rd sonata is the last one and Gould makes is as interesting as it can be I suppose. Enough for me to listen to it for a few minutes anyway.

[Matteo7419]

@EMPERORMIKI D'you really think Chopin's 3rd Sonata is "trash"? And what about the first? Not well known, but absolutely not trash. May be you don't like Chopin at all... it could be a reasonable explication.

[EMPERORMIKI]

I do enjoy some of Chopin's work ... especially the 2nd piano sonata which I think it completely wonderful—the first movement in particular.

The first movement is like Beethoven in so many ways. I absolutely adore Beethoven and am glad that other composers, including Chopin, found inspiration in Beethoven.

I listen to music and listen and listen.

Perhaps that is our difference.

[Matteo7419]

Yes, may be. Everybody knows the beginning of Chopin 2 is very similar to Beethoven 111. I'm not surprised, my friend. I was only surprised with your «The one okay movement of the 3rd sonata is the last one», 'cause I think it's a little bit exaggerated. By the way, it's your opinion and, as you listen a lot... Bye.

[Allegro11Maestoso]

@EMPERORMIKI Woah easy man, if you listen more carefully you'll find that Chopin didn't find his inspiration in Beethoven, but in Bach and Mozart. As for the "trash" comment, I agree with Matteo...

[EMPERORMIKI]

Well I suggest you listen to the first movement of the 2nd sonata again ... Chopin imitates Beethoven quite literally ... and quite well I'd say. There are many examples in Beethoven but I think the clearest example would be the Waldstein sonata (first movement as well). The music "explodes" is quite the same manner in about the same place.

And I am aware of Chopin's interest in Bach and Mozart ... but my comment said nothing of that.

[Allegro11Maestoso]

@EMPERORMIKI haha, "some" of Chopin's work...well, de gustibus...

[EMPERORMIKI]

I think that phrase should be reserved for people who assume a composer or other artists entire output is of equal quality to a few pieces they (and presumably many others) find likable.

I have not listened to all of Chopin's work ... but I've listened to enough to hold some pieces in higher opinion than others.

You know Chopin did not promote his C#minor fantasie because he thought it resembled Beethoven's Moonlight too much ... several passages are note for note at times.

[Matteo7419]

Actually GG did not dislike Horowitz, but he got a little bit upset when Horowitz said «Gould plays like a stupid honkey!»

[ChrisWatch]

Ben Sonnenberg asked him what he said when people asked if he was gay, and he replied, "I always quote Horowitz, that there are three kinds of pianists: Homosexual pianists, Jewish pianists, and bad pianistis. and I add, and pianists who play better than Horowitz."

Glenn commented that Horowitz famous octaves is faked.

[ChrisWatch]

Glenn Goulds recording of Siegfried Idyll, was heard by Vladimir Horowitz, after hearing it, told Harold Schonberg, "He played like a stupid ass."

[Matteo7419]

Yes, I perfectly knew. But I'm italian and I didn't know yhe exact translation. And aout your quotation, of course, I think it was because of this one. I don't think GG hated Horowitz as a pianist.

[Matteo7419]

@ettml No, that's not true: GG should have recorded 12 Scarlatti's Sonatas, but decided not to follow on with the project. As these three Sonatas where difficult to put on a recording, he and his producer once thought it could have been a good idea to produce a recording with a lot of the "ice box" pieces put alltogether, and GG joked about the fact it would have been similar to the Horowitz "return" concert, full of pieces with no relation one another ;)

[CaptainBluebear08]

Bravo.

As always : ]