Gould is like a drunken man, who challenges another drunken man to a fist fight, and they end up, once both out of hospital, being the best of friends..
@bbmcg5: In addition, I think you are confusing the editorial corrections for metronomic marking, a device which was invented during Beethoven's lifetime. These markings were quite contentious and even today still argued over. Do not confuse metronomic markings though with tempo indications such as presto or largo.
@bbmcg5: Wrong! You need to look at a few of Beethoven's handwritten scores and note that he very carefully indicated every dynamic marking. I'm not sure from where you received your information but you need to use reliable sources. Search out the Peters editions and Urtext. Look up some facsimiles of Beethovens original scores and seek out Sir Donald Francis Tovey's editorials on Beethoven. It may help:)
@shadfan111: Firstly it's heck not heak:) secondly, those 22 individuals understand good music and realize this playing is not an example of good playing.
But, what can you say of a man who professed to dislike Mozart's music, and who couldn't understand and in fact thought Chopin's music amateurish. He was an arrogant elitist who used his extraordinary gifts to propel Bach forward but did nothing for the romantics or indeed Mozart or Beethoven. In simple terms, he was a nut case!
@Chopin1974l I agree with you on the stylistic comments, but I think every artist is entitled to their own interpretations. But on your most importantly, you do realize that any dynamic markings you see in your music aren't from Beethoven, but from an editor? You should brush up on your classical music history.
Cont...Secondly, and most importantly, Gould utterly ignores Beethoven's precise phrasing and dynamic markings. At b24 Beethoven marks crescendo instead Gould diminuendos, and again at 26. The arrogance! At b59 he practically obliterates the cantabile melody in favour of the triplets. And finally bars 70-72 have rinforzandos which again he ignores. Poor playing indeed.
Simply put, Gould's playing is NOT true to Beethoven's score. First, this mov't is marked 'adagio cantabile' - slow and singing. Gould's playing is not slow but instead leans to more of an andante con motto, in otherwords too fast! In addition his persistent stylistic intention (Bach style) of playing mezzo staccato is not in keeping with stylistic conventions of the day.
it's 10pm and adventures in good music is starting. i miss karl haas and this song takes me back. to wjct in jacksonville, florida. i used to go to bed, and listen to this every night.
His voicing is awesome for that tempo. I think he started it a bit non-legato but the return to the MT after the first ST, it was in my opinion spot on legato: soaring but crisp. That is awfully hard to achieve with 3+ voices. Parts of it felt a bit rushed, but still beautiful. And as any player knows, you never EVER play the same way twice. So this recording is forever unique.
Respond to this video... You guys out here are truly intelligent and knowledgeable! Thank you! Mr. Gould is truly an enigma, His Bach, Sublime! His Beethoven, Open to anything. Unless your name is Czerny, or Busoni, questions of interpretation can be debated indefinitely, and that's just fine! Have at it, Boys!
I have always known Glenn Gould for his Bach interpretations. This was totally new to me, so forgive me, but I also found it rather "let's get all these notes down at the right time". Beethoven for me is usually a spiritual experience, as certainly accounts of him dictated that he himself found much the same value in music. Sadly, though his technique is phenomenal, and no mistakes were made, this was not by any means spiritual or moving emotionally. Sorry Glenn :(.
@jen1989z If you're a piano player, then give it a shot! It really isn't that hard technically. A few months of practice and you can have all the technique in this performance. Obviously, you can't expect to have the beauty in expression of a master pianist, but you can give it a shot!
You can get the score for free (and legally) from the International Music Score Library Project, and imslp (dot) org (slash) wiki, or just google IMSLP.
@LOTRzagorath thanks for the encouragement! I am working on Liebestraum - Franz Liszt, (returning to piano after 32 years) and I desperately want to try this piece! I think if a piece speaks to you, then go for it! Apologies in advance to Beethoven!
interpretation is a delicate question. Some people "interpret" masterpieces though parody. If the listener meets the parody before the original, I think it diminishes the experience of the original. This can be true for any music. I can't imagine hearing the curent rash of singers interpret their national anthems without first hearing the original. Interpreting beautiful works is a dangerous business. But how can we avoid it and still allow players a creative feeling. They are not robots..
I never really thought of interpreting this song in this way before, but when you consider that in Beethovens' time they probably didn't have the sustain pedal, then it makes total sense. I love it when someone can take my sensibilities about a song and turn it entirely around while at the same time make total sense
@pohjixian The sustain pedal was, in fact, invented a few decades before Beethoven's birth. Still, you're right in saying it wouldn't have been used nearly as much in Beethoven's time as in the romantic era, or the present. Only for special effects. :)
When I was young my cousin had one of those electronic pianos and I learned how to play up to 20 seconds of this song T.T;; I thought I was so accomplished! Now I'm getting old and I just can't seem to remember the rest =(
I feel some coldness to happiness? I don't know, but he is very objective to emotion, and it make feel sad a little. I feel like post-war emotion, as compared.
Yes well I mean now. Electronic music has been around along time now and I believe it's passed it best in the early eighties. But the compositions still seem to hark back to the classic composers and they're so engrained as the best music we have. It always seemed a shame that other kinds of ethnic music didn't develop like western music and they followed the west at the expense of a different approach to music.
sounds like elgar used this for nimrod, although that sounds grander. I think people get too precious with Beethoven and the likes. I think music originating from Bach has run it's course, and it's time to come from a completely new angle as music in general seems to have stagnated. It's hard not to be influenced by what has come before and there doesn't seem to be anyone able to start something truly new. You have to believe this is not the only way to make music!
@francotron2000 Why would you say music has stagnated? No one started something truly new? What about electronic music? I mean explain to me why you think that nothing new has happened to music and what you consider new to begin with.
@francotron2000 yes, regarding your comment on elgar, elgar did indeed explicitly state that he quoted the theme from this particular movement in nimrod. this is because when he was undergoing a period of depression and had stopped composing, a friend of his told him to transform his feelings to music, and started singing the first few bars of this divine piece...that inspired elgar to start composing again...
Very dry ..... while everyone has their own interpretation, this particular version does not touch my heart. The almost complete absence of rubato seems to rob the music of much of its emotional power. I much prefer Gould's interpretation of Bach .... his wonderful handling of polyphonic writing, the crisp cool touch, the precision and limited rubato is perfect for the Baroque composers.
I've been a fan of Gould since I was very young .... the Goldbergs remain my favorite recording.
@nikkitytom Vale que pueda sonar seco, mas deberían recordar todos ustedes señores que, sin inportar la versión, sigue siendo Beethoven, !por diós!
Todos sabemos, o deberíamos saber lo bella que es esta pieza, como todas en Beethoven, sin importar quien las interprete, porque los intérpretes lo único que hacen es resaltar aspectos diversos de una misma pieza, el sr. Gould, que en gloria esté, resalta aspectos mediante la velocidad, que en Baremboin serían sutiles.
I just don't get it, why someone did think to make video recordings of Glenn playing everything as well the audio. The few vids I see of him sell like wild. Some prefer just to listen, I gotta do both and don't mind buying a 2 nd for the house or the car. DVDs are awesome. CDs awesome. Do it all and pick what you want and enjoy it the way you like.
@slovakmath My typo in my first post was confusing as the word NOT did not get included in that first line. I should have proof read first. I MEANT to say that I did NOT understand why someone had not thought to make available MORE video recordings of Glenn playing as well as the audio. Someone prefer to just listen while others jump at the chance to watch also. Wouldnt you love to snap in a video of Bach or Beethoven as they played?
@DamienPictures He composed this in 1798 when he was 27. He began to go deaf at age 28, so he probably heard better than most of us when he wrote this.
Gould was born to play bach. this is nice experimentation and good practice, but not what his claim to fame is, so nobody has a right to call him a bad pianist just because he didn't do this piece well. the music itself is beautiful but this is what is written on the sheet of paper, not the way it was meant to be played and not what beethoven wanted us to hear.
One could argue that a performer has the right to do in 'his way' whatever is not specifically written in the score, and only Beethoven has a right to judge it.
But after hearing the interpretations by good Beethoven 'specialists' it is difficult to imagine someone playing this music so finicky as Gould, unless he is an eccentric for the sake of being an eccentric. I admire many of Gould's interpretations of Bach, but I think he also had some of what we find in an idiot.
@Chopin1976l I agree! This could've been played alot better. I've heard better versions of this movement. I love this melody, and Glenn kinda ruined it for me. Where's the emotion??
It does NOT follow any of Beethoven's indications. It is dull, robotic, and mechanical. The voicing of the main melody is extremely poor. Beethoven was known for his legato playing and impressive adagios. It is well known that Gould disliked Beethoven. This is, by far, the worst rendition of this movement I've ever heard. It sounds like child learning to play. Very, very poor!
I listened to Kempf's version before this one. Kempf's is romantic and fluent, but Gould's version touches my soul. It's amazing that he could give so many familiar pieces a completely new life.
something about this piece, this particular movement, makes me tear & gets me goosebumps... it's absolutely beautiful and elegant. I love Beethoven's works.
Gould's interpretations always seem to be very different from other major pianists and I see a lot of valid criticism about tempo and legato, most of which is valid, but I can't help but feeling that this is closer to what Beethoven intended than other pianists. Anyone can play the notes, but few can put good feeling into them.
He plays it matter of fact. Wonderful. He doesn't have anything to do with any of this romantic crap. This is the best Beethoven I've ever heard.
He just lets the music speak for itself.
If you listen closely, underneath the restraint and understatement there is great intensity. Every note is placed and perfectly and every phrase carefully and exactly crafted. The result is powerful.
@Rui725 If you think it sounds robotic, I hope it doesn't throw you off of Glenn Gould's interpretations. His Goldberg variations are strikingly emotive. Much more so than any others I've heard.
Gran interpretación, nunca habia oido a Gould tocando a Beethoven, me parece una buena ejecución, a pesar de romper con el tempo de "adagio cantabile" popular..!
This interpretation is AWFUL, how can he butcher such a beautiful piece of music. Reminds me of Bang Bang. 1st he plays as if it is a march and detaches all the notes, they should be LEGATO!!!!
Although i agree that he could play it more legato (as Beethoven intended it to be played when he made it), you must also remember that this is HIS interpretation of the song and you can't really say that a persons interpretation is wrong since it is the creation of the artist who conjured it. So although i agree with you on one end of the argument, i also disagree at the same time (for those who read this yet didn't understand, i agree on the legato yet disagree on it being awful or incorrect)
@Joeygame1018 One pianist made that exact same argument after the composer Alexander Scriabin criticized the way the pianist was "interpreting" Scriabin's works. Scriabin's response, paraphrased: "It's your interpretation, but it's my work of art so you'd do well to respect my intentions".
@Joeygame1018 i like your point about the contribution of the artist and how he gives his own soul into the piece thus altering it in his own way.but please:) it's a piece and not a song:)
@Joeygame1018 While I agree that a performer must play a piece in a way that seems suitable to them, his first duty should also be to the composer. If Beethoven intended it more legato (as you say. I myself would say that is debatable), then the performer should have it more legato.
As it is, I would prefer it more legato, but agree with you that it isn't horrible or "incorrect". It's his interpretation based on what Beethoven wrote, just as you said.
Personally, I think it's pretty good. I can listen to the slow and the Gould version and they both give the same effect for me. He still plays excelently and with emotion. Once you get into the feel of the tempo, it's quite beautiful. Nevertheless, another masterwork of the Master. Awesome.
Gould is a genius. Try to understand where he comes from before you start talking shit. If you're not a genius you wouldn't understand anyway. You can't milk everything otherwise it's meaningless. Remember how when you mother yelled at you constantly and it had no effect on you?
Great piece, not such a good performance. Sounds like Gould is just rushing through it to get it over with. It's not until 1:47 that he gets the tempo right. In my opinion, everything before 1:47 is just plain bad.
At 1:17-1:18, measure 22, B has a triplet 32nd grace note ornament written in ahead of the two 32nds that actually begin the measure. As noted in the Schirmer edition, the execution of this in strict time is impossible without, in effect, adding an additional 32nd to the measure. What Gould does is play the three graces and the two 32nds as a five-note pentuplet occupying the first 16th of the measure. I think his solution works rather well, as he arrives at the 8th note (G) on time.
What an interpretation! It's feels really playful especially the last time through the theme. I never thought I would hear it played like this. thanks for the post
Interesting interpretation. It puts a twist on how I originally heard it. I've always heard it played very slowly so hearing this was a nice change. It wasn't too fast, but just enough to make a difference.
Gould was a genius... and possibly clinically insane. He all but completely hated all composers except J.S. Bach, the master of music as we know it. Gould had no use for other composers, and it shows in the performances. Freddy Kempf's reading of this piece is much more satisfying.
That is incorrect, his favorite composer was not Bach, but the composer Orlando Gibbons, and he obviously liked other composers, mostly polyphonic composers E.G. Berg
I want to rip this song off and make it a love song. It's that good.
DBAD14 9 hours ago
Billy Joel brought me here :)
alfredo95 1 week ago in playlist More videos from Arganos0 2
23 people have no soul...
Vertigo2903 1 week ago
My marching band played this as the ballad last year :D
awesome1065 1 week ago
Cl, I love you! You are the best!
imsohornynwet 1 month ago
This is the perfect tempo for this song. Glenn Gould did a very good job on this piece
beatthesuckeyes8 1 month ago 2
I do not understand all the jargon some ppl have used...All I know is to listen and I think this is wonderful... :)
vkrits 1 month ago
Beethoven's soft side..which is nice to see
BoOmBoOmPaL 1 month ago
the most beautiful movement out of the three for sure...<3
BoOmBoOmPaL 1 month ago 2
Gould is like a drunken man, who challenges another drunken man to a fist fight, and they end up, once both out of hospital, being the best of friends..
PointyTailofSatan 1 month ago
Comment removed
velizarcho123 1 month ago
This has been flagged as spam show
@PointyTailofSatan you're too far with drinking, boy!
velizarcho123 1 month ago
One of his most underrated scores, this is perfect for a ballroom setting, or a quiet evening next to candle light, reading etc..
WhoIsJesus2K 1 month ago 4
I got a Battlefield 3 ad at the beginning of this video. All i wanted was classical music *cries*
pokerus911 1 month ago 4
@bbmcg5: In addition, I think you are confusing the editorial corrections for metronomic marking, a device which was invented during Beethoven's lifetime. These markings were quite contentious and even today still argued over. Do not confuse metronomic markings though with tempo indications such as presto or largo.
Chopin1974l 2 months ago
@bbmcg5: Wrong! You need to look at a few of Beethoven's handwritten scores and note that he very carefully indicated every dynamic marking. I'm not sure from where you received your information but you need to use reliable sources. Search out the Peters editions and Urtext. Look up some facsimiles of Beethovens original scores and seek out Sir Donald Francis Tovey's editorials on Beethoven. It may help:)
Chopin1974l 2 months ago
Bella interpretazione...ma non la migliore a mio modesto parere.
946paulinho 2 months ago
@shadfan111: Firstly it's heck not heak:) secondly, those 22 individuals understand good music and realize this playing is not an example of good playing.
Chopin1974l 2 months ago
Guys, it's Glenn Gould playing... did ypi really expect a by-the-numbers interpretation??
skrattkantarellen 2 months ago
Woah woah... Slow the fuck down...
Dan474834 2 months ago 2
22 people deserve 2 die in heak!
shadfan111 2 months ago
But, what can you say of a man who professed to dislike Mozart's music, and who couldn't understand and in fact thought Chopin's music amateurish. He was an arrogant elitist who used his extraordinary gifts to propel Bach forward but did nothing for the romantics or indeed Mozart or Beethoven. In simple terms, he was a nut case!
Chopin1974l 2 months ago
@Chopin1974l I agree with you on the stylistic comments, but I think every artist is entitled to their own interpretations. But on your most importantly, you do realize that any dynamic markings you see in your music aren't from Beethoven, but from an editor? You should brush up on your classical music history.
bbmcg5 2 months ago
Cont...Secondly, and most importantly, Gould utterly ignores Beethoven's precise phrasing and dynamic markings. At b24 Beethoven marks crescendo instead Gould diminuendos, and again at 26. The arrogance! At b59 he practically obliterates the cantabile melody in favour of the triplets. And finally bars 70-72 have rinforzandos which again he ignores. Poor playing indeed.
Chopin1974l 2 months ago
Simply put, Gould's playing is NOT true to Beethoven's score. First, this mov't is marked 'adagio cantabile' - slow and singing. Gould's playing is not slow but instead leans to more of an andante con motto, in otherwords too fast! In addition his persistent stylistic intention (Bach style) of playing mezzo staccato is not in keeping with stylistic conventions of the day.
Chopin1974l 2 months ago
I first heard this while watching an old Peanuts/Charlie Brown movie when I was a little boy.
Wonderful music...
PrinceOfCicero 2 months ago
Is Mr. Gould playing this song too fast?
The reason I ask is that I have always heard this tune in a more slow tempo.
j4unumber1 2 months ago
I was a little opposed to how fast this is at first, but he plays it so exquisitely that the speed becomes irrelevant.
lolita24601 3 months ago
@lolita24601 if it was any slower i would have fallen asleep and so would the audience
inthesmallwood 2 months ago 2
without any doubt, the most brilliant composer of all time
TheMS1973 4 months ago
too fast
PapagenoJuan2 4 months ago
@PapagenoJuan2 What speed do you think it should it be? Play the Pathétique, record it, and we'll see how your version stacks up to Glenn Gould's.
gLukeMaynard 4 months ago
@gLukeMaynard no i agree with him this is a bit too fast
CtrolokDoncov 2 months ago
@PapagenoJuan2 That's Glenn Gould for you. He marches to the beat of his own drum.
fernandojamesangeles 3 months ago
not all strict and damn emotional = glenn gould
XxmcdxX 4 months ago
@samuelrodneyphillips Thanks for that tidbit didn't know that before now haha :)
pohjixian 5 months ago
Glenn Gould was a genius. Unmatched. This is a brilliantly interpreted, beautifully played piece. Thank you for posting it.
marmie88 5 months ago
so touching
ChrisGold88 5 months ago
It's a little bit too fast =/
fullMontyist 5 months ago
it's 10pm and adventures in good music is starting. i miss karl haas and this song takes me back. to wjct in jacksonville, florida. i used to go to bed, and listen to this every night.
tranurse 6 months ago
His voicing is awesome for that tempo. I think he started it a bit non-legato but the return to the MT after the first ST, it was in my opinion spot on legato: soaring but crisp. That is awfully hard to achieve with 3+ voices. Parts of it felt a bit rushed, but still beautiful. And as any player knows, you never EVER play the same way twice. So this recording is forever unique.
9b8 6 months ago
THIS VIDEO IS FOR LISTENING ONLY! Not for making stupid comments made by idiotic wannabe critics.
fissionesque 7 months ago in playlist Glenn Gould - Moonlight Sonata pt. I (Beethoven) 55
@fissionesque Music is, and will always be criticized, you fascist! GET OFF, LOSER!
ideamachineim 5 months ago
Respond to this video... You guys out here are truly intelligent and knowledgeable! Thank you! Mr. Gould is truly an enigma, His Bach, Sublime! His Beethoven, Open to anything. Unless your name is Czerny, or Busoni, questions of interpretation can be debated indefinitely, and that's just fine! Have at it, Boys!
ideamachineim 5 months ago
@ideamachineim and Girls! :)
castor5pollax 4 months ago
I have always known Glenn Gould for his Bach interpretations. This was totally new to me, so forgive me, but I also found it rather "let's get all these notes down at the right time". Beethoven for me is usually a spiritual experience, as certainly accounts of him dictated that he himself found much the same value in music. Sadly, though his technique is phenomenal, and no mistakes were made, this was not by any means spiritual or moving emotionally. Sorry Glenn :(.
the81stviewer 7 months ago
It's me or we can hear Glenn Gould " singing " or " humming " at 1:02 1:16 and 1:23 ??
Aurell25420 8 months ago
i would love to play this piece..
jen1989z 8 months ago
@jen1989z If you're a piano player, then give it a shot! It really isn't that hard technically. A few months of practice and you can have all the technique in this performance. Obviously, you can't expect to have the beauty in expression of a master pianist, but you can give it a shot!
You can get the score for free (and legally) from the International Music Score Library Project, and imslp (dot) org (slash) wiki, or just google IMSLP.
LOTRzagorath 8 months ago
@LOTRzagorath thank you very much. I will try it someday with my teacher.. :)
jen1989z 8 months ago
@LOTRzagorath thanks for the encouragement! I am working on Liebestraum - Franz Liszt, (returning to piano after 32 years) and I desperately want to try this piece! I think if a piece speaks to you, then go for it! Apologies in advance to Beethoven!
alexaasr 3 months ago
Recebi essa canção, compartilhada em rede social por querida amiga, em belíssima manhã de domingo!
Foi-me um grande presente, deixando-me super feliz!
Que as manhãs sejam boas a todos, sempre!
thelelakuhl 9 months ago
sheet music @ sheetsearch . com
Ir0nman86 9 months ago
I can so hear this tunein "Titanic" when the people die..... =(
EDsIXXI 1 year ago
interpretation is a delicate question. Some people "interpret" masterpieces though parody. If the listener meets the parody before the original, I think it diminishes the experience of the original. This can be true for any music. I can't imagine hearing the curent rash of singers interpret their national anthems without first hearing the original. Interpreting beautiful works is a dangerous business. But how can we avoid it and still allow players a creative feeling. They are not robots..
athenianboy 1 year ago
EARGASMO!!
markkayary 1 year ago
It sounded like he hit a clinker at exactly the 3:45 mark of this piece.
mobrules29 1 year ago
Gould's interpretation is so damn funny!
canzhi 1 year ago
I never really thought of interpreting this song in this way before, but when you consider that in Beethovens' time they probably didn't have the sustain pedal, then it makes total sense. I love it when someone can take my sensibilities about a song and turn it entirely around while at the same time make total sense
pohjixian 1 year ago
@pohjixian
What song are you talking about?
faraz1729 8 months ago
@pohjixian The sustain pedal was, in fact, invented a few decades before Beethoven's birth. Still, you're right in saying it wouldn't have been used nearly as much in Beethoven's time as in the romantic era, or the present. Only for special effects. :)
samuelrodneyphillips 5 months ago
When I was young my cousin had one of those electronic pianos and I learned how to play up to 20 seconds of this song T.T;; I thought I was so accomplished! Now I'm getting old and I just can't seem to remember the rest =(
frigtartsxp 1 year ago
gorgeous! :) how he builds to the return of the opening theme at 3:14 is amazing! gould plays with so much feeling and not one note wasted, ever! :)
debs4mysweetbaby 1 year ago 12
Gould's.
okhabin 1 year ago
wo you know where i can find the music sheets
gozaimas1 1 year ago
@gozaimas1 imslp.org ... it has a bunch of free scores of a bunch of composers including this sonata by beethoven. happy hunting.
EMPERORMIKI 1 year ago
...
tristanisolde04 1 year ago
I like this piece but i think he plays the harmonic parts of the theme too umm rhythmic or kinda dead
hero123213xdzero 1 year ago
@ultra720 well i guess it could be both but yeah he meant legato
beastlypianoplayer1 1 year ago
I feel some coldness to happiness? I don't know, but he is very objective to emotion, and it make feel sad a little. I feel like post-war emotion, as compared.
tanitity 1 year ago
To those who thought he played this atempo, you will be blown away by his interpretation of Mov 3.
JeterCM 1 year ago
Well played but extremely fast - would have been nicer and more emotive if it was much slower.
bonafide16 1 year ago
hahaha! another 20 doushe bags! this is pro!
maxyroo 1 year ago
Yes well I mean now. Electronic music has been around along time now and I believe it's passed it best in the early eighties. But the compositions still seem to hark back to the classic composers and they're so engrained as the best music we have. It always seemed a shame that other kinds of ethnic music didn't develop like western music and they followed the west at the expense of a different approach to music.
francotron2000 1 year ago
This is just amazing. I 've never seen such a perfect marriage between the composer, the music and the interpreter.
VONHIMMELBACH 1 year ago
I think it's too fast... I missed emotions at the beginning
marushkamkt 1 year ago
I really didn't expect this piece as my next piece right after a Bach Two-Part Invention. So Weird..
Silviara458 1 year ago
sounds like elgar used this for nimrod, although that sounds grander. I think people get too precious with Beethoven and the likes. I think music originating from Bach has run it's course, and it's time to come from a completely new angle as music in general seems to have stagnated. It's hard not to be influenced by what has come before and there doesn't seem to be anyone able to start something truly new. You have to believe this is not the only way to make music!
francotron2000 1 year ago
@francotron2000 Why would you say music has stagnated? No one started something truly new? What about electronic music? I mean explain to me why you think that nothing new has happened to music and what you consider new to begin with.
mauiboynokaoi 1 year ago
@francotron2000 yes, regarding your comment on elgar, elgar did indeed explicitly state that he quoted the theme from this particular movement in nimrod. this is because when he was undergoing a period of depression and had stopped composing, a friend of his told him to transform his feelings to music, and started singing the first few bars of this divine piece...that inspired elgar to start composing again...
duhhh86 1 year ago
@duhhh86 thanks for that information. If any piece of music could pull you out of depression it this i suppose, providing you like classical music!
francotron2000 1 year ago
Complaining about rubato is for retards. Stop looking for emotion via analysis of his technique. Experience what you are hearing.
chaddyfromtheblock 1 year ago 2
Very dry ..... while everyone has their own interpretation, this particular version does not touch my heart. The almost complete absence of rubato seems to rob the music of much of its emotional power. I much prefer Gould's interpretation of Bach .... his wonderful handling of polyphonic writing, the crisp cool touch, the precision and limited rubato is perfect for the Baroque composers.
I've been a fan of Gould since I was very young .... the Goldbergs remain my favorite recording.
nikkitytom 1 year ago
@nikkitytom Vale que pueda sonar seco, mas deberían recordar todos ustedes señores que, sin inportar la versión, sigue siendo Beethoven, !por diós!
Todos sabemos, o deberíamos saber lo bella que es esta pieza, como todas en Beethoven, sin importar quien las interprete, porque los intérpretes lo único que hacen es resaltar aspectos diversos de una misma pieza, el sr. Gould, que en gloria esté, resalta aspectos mediante la velocidad, que en Baremboin serían sutiles.
En definitiva, es Magnífica.
gijondani 1 year ago
i will go buy the disc tmr:D
utopian1129 1 year ago
I just don't get it, why someone did think to make video recordings of Glenn playing everything as well the audio. The few vids I see of him sell like wild. Some prefer just to listen, I gotta do both and don't mind buying a 2 nd for the house or the car. DVDs are awesome. CDs awesome. Do it all and pick what you want and enjoy it the way you like.
1Janny1 1 year ago
@1Janny1 sorry I am not good in english...are you say that prefer videos rather just the music?
slovakmath 1 year ago
@slovakmath My typo in my first post was confusing as the word NOT did not get included in that first line. I should have proof read first. I MEANT to say that I did NOT understand why someone had not thought to make available MORE video recordings of Glenn playing as well as the audio. Someone prefer to just listen while others jump at the chance to watch also. Wouldnt you love to snap in a video of Bach or Beethoven as they played?
1Janny1 1 year ago
It's still catchy in 2010; that's what I call lasting music!
fillXinXblankXstares 1 year ago
If I want to know how a piece is supposed to sound, I come to Gould.
FuzzyConstant 1 year ago
ugh this is so beautiful it makes me wanna cryyy!!!!! :D
shopaholicgurrl 1 year ago
Astounding. Absolutely no rubato in a romantic piece.
FryderykFChopin 1 year ago
I'm not really a Glenn Gould fan...he'd good and all but I prefer Horowitz or Kempff playing Beethoven's piano compositions.
Zoe0717 1 year ago
mag na feek!
jokeistman 1 year ago
They need to make sure that Billy Joel's "This Night" gives the credit to Ludwig. We have some sheet music that doesn't. :)
learnsomethingnew5 1 year ago
was Beethoven really deaf when he composed this?
DamienPictures 1 year ago
@DamienPictures I know, right?
StradAmatiViolin 1 year ago
@DamienPictures He composed this in 1798 when he was 27. He began to go deaf at age 28, so he probably heard better than most of us when he wrote this.
inazuma3gou 1 year ago
Gould was born to play bach. this is nice experimentation and good practice, but not what his claim to fame is, so nobody has a right to call him a bad pianist just because he didn't do this piece well. the music itself is beautiful but this is what is written on the sheet of paper, not the way it was meant to be played and not what beethoven wanted us to hear.
btown2345 1 year ago
@btown2345
One could argue that a performer has the right to do in 'his way' whatever is not specifically written in the score, and only Beethoven has a right to judge it.
But after hearing the interpretations by good Beethoven 'specialists' it is difficult to imagine someone playing this music so finicky as Gould, unless he is an eccentric for the sake of being an eccentric. I admire many of Gould's interpretations of Bach, but I think he also had some of what we find in an idiot.
Ernesto7608 1 year ago
This is like a robot...
No emotion, no passion, it's like he's TRYING to insult Beethoven!
evilcyclone6 1 year ago
classical piano makes me cry.
GOD blessed us with such peaceful music to remind us that when we are in a storm or a trial HE's always there and were in HIS arms. may GOD bless <3
JESUSISMYABBA 1 year ago
so amazing i cry when i hear this :)
JESUS has blessed us with such great music!!!!
JESUSISMYABBA 1 year ago
I'm learning how to play this on my keyboard. It's simple enough that I can learn it yet sophisticated enough to love it
GravitonyNeon 1 year ago
@Chopin1976l I agree! This could've been played alot better. I've heard better versions of this movement. I love this melody, and Glenn kinda ruined it for me. Where's the emotion??
thembiso2008 1 year ago
It does NOT follow any of Beethoven's indications. It is dull, robotic, and mechanical. The voicing of the main melody is extremely poor. Beethoven was known for his legato playing and impressive adagios. It is well known that Gould disliked Beethoven. This is, by far, the worst rendition of this movement I've ever heard. It sounds like child learning to play. Very, very poor!
Chopin1976l 1 year ago
i had to play that song for my school's orchestra concert
YmustTh3w0rldG0r0und 1 year ago
I think the clearness and perfect balance between the midle and outhern lines is just amazing! I like this recording!
MrGarlis 1 year ago
He's a good pianist, but I don't think I'm a fan of Glenn Gould. Its like... lets take something great and make it pretty bland sounding.
DarkZekeX 1 year ago
I listened to Kempf's version before this one. Kempf's is romantic and fluent, but Gould's version touches my soul. It's amazing that he could give so many familiar pieces a completely new life.
acoolmouse 1 year ago
It does sound robotic no feeling, no passion.
mattmullany 1 year ago 2
@mattmullany His interpretation is more baroque than romantic... definitely a choice.
MDjinxi 1 year ago 2
No es de lo mejor de Glenn Gould... pero la pieza es tan intensa, apasionada...
moonsoul18 1 year ago
gould plays faster than most but puts more into it as well, cant be explained.... just enjoyed, so there
HSECOWBOY 1 year ago
I wonder why Gould insisted on playing pieces at quicker tempos than usual.
turko1313 1 year ago
omg !! ! hermosa composicion....
AgSxCoRe 1 year ago
something about this piece, this particular movement, makes me tear & gets me goosebumps... it's absolutely beautiful and elegant. I love Beethoven's works.
gro0vy0528 1 year ago
Gould's interpretations always seem to be very different from other major pianists and I see a lot of valid criticism about tempo and legato, most of which is valid, but I can't help but feeling that this is closer to what Beethoven intended than other pianists. Anyone can play the notes, but few can put good feeling into them.
yumpin 1 year ago 2
He plays it matter of fact. Wonderful. He doesn't have anything to do with any of this romantic crap. This is the best Beethoven I've ever heard.
He just lets the music speak for itself.
If you listen closely, underneath the restraint and understatement there is great intensity. Every note is placed and perfectly and every phrase carefully and exactly crafted. The result is powerful.
fuckthepain 1 year ago
@fuckthepain Its a matter of preference. I dislike this interpretation. Sounds robotic.
Rui725 1 year ago
@Rui725 If you think it sounds robotic, I hope it doesn't throw you off of Glenn Gould's interpretations. His Goldberg variations are strikingly emotive. Much more so than any others I've heard.
AccordionTheif 1 year ago
@Rui725 I think the worst one can say is it bears the stigma of being robotic. Gould was often quite percussive-sounding
munkybrain 1 year ago
Gould always seems to play everything too fast.
kingary 1 year ago
i feel this to be a touch fast?
ih11son 1 year ago
Gran interpretación, nunca habia oido a Gould tocando a Beethoven, me parece una buena ejecución, a pesar de romper con el tempo de "adagio cantabile" popular..!
morgulddt 1 year ago
Wasn't Bach considered to be something of a 'maniac' himself???
Gaygarious 1 year ago
This interpretation is AWFUL, how can he butcher such a beautiful piece of music. Reminds me of Bang Bang. 1st he plays as if it is a march and detaches all the notes, they should be LEGATO!!!!
robfuturemd 1 year ago
and could you do better?
natesquared 1 year ago
Yes, I could, I have played this piece myself!! This guy plays it as a march, nooooo good!!
robfuturemd 1 year ago
Although i agree that he could play it more legato (as Beethoven intended it to be played when he made it), you must also remember that this is HIS interpretation of the song and you can't really say that a persons interpretation is wrong since it is the creation of the artist who conjured it. So although i agree with you on one end of the argument, i also disagree at the same time (for those who read this yet didn't understand, i agree on the legato yet disagree on it being awful or incorrect)
Joeygame1018 1 year ago 23
This comment was @robfuturemd for those who didn't know.
Joeygame1018 1 year ago
@Joeygame1018 you mean "largo" right?
ultra720 1 year ago
@Joeygame1018 One pianist made that exact same argument after the composer Alexander Scriabin criticized the way the pianist was "interpreting" Scriabin's works. Scriabin's response, paraphrased: "It's your interpretation, but it's my work of art so you'd do well to respect my intentions".
MJTTOMB 1 year ago
@Joeygame1018 i like your point about the contribution of the artist and how he gives his own soul into the piece thus altering it in his own way.but please:) it's a piece and not a song:)
hellzor555 1 year ago
@Joeygame1018 While I agree that a performer must play a piece in a way that seems suitable to them, his first duty should also be to the composer. If Beethoven intended it more legato (as you say. I myself would say that is debatable), then the performer should have it more legato.
As it is, I would prefer it more legato, but agree with you that it isn't horrible or "incorrect". It's his interpretation based on what Beethoven wrote, just as you said.
LOTRzagorath 8 months ago
This movement is my favorite
Caspia29 1 year ago 14
Bravo !!
Ozonmyown 1 year ago
can someone please reply to me with a link to sheet music for this.
buerm009 1 year ago
Personally, I think it's pretty good. I can listen to the slow and the Gould version and they both give the same effect for me. He still plays excelently and with emotion. Once you get into the feel of the tempo, it's quite beautiful. Nevertheless, another masterwork of the Master. Awesome.
BenGabbay 1 year ago 2
This is a dumb interpretation by Gould. He is playing it as a march. Awful idea.
This movement is Beethoven at his most romantic and melancholic self.
exploidur 1 year ago
Gould is a genius. Try to understand where he comes from before you start talking shit. If you're not a genius you wouldn't understand anyway. You can't milk everything otherwise it's meaningless. Remember how when you mother yelled at you constantly and it had no effect on you?
rbaughman 1 year ago
@rbaughman I disagree... if he was a genius he would have realized that this tempo is entirely toooo fast for this piece.
incinoman 1 year ago
Comment removed
robespierre80 1 year ago
I can hear him singing under the piece
Especially the main phrase. Though it is
wonderful....
MARCO148 1 year ago
I love his interpretation
SteveDukesBlues 1 year ago
Gould is great with the mathematical Bach. His Beethoven is totally awful ~ a cold and mechanical reading.
MissKramer44M 1 year ago
Bach was meant for Gould. Not Beethoven (in my opinion). I simply love this piece itself, but not this interpretation. To fast.
GabonViper1981 1 year ago 2
I don't like Gould but this piece is fine.
dtamyf 1 year ago
was that Gould's graduation piece? He seemed uninspired at best...
SALLEMJAZZ 2 years ago
Great piece, not such a good performance. Sounds like Gould is just rushing through it to get it over with. It's not until 1:47 that he gets the tempo right. In my opinion, everything before 1:47 is just plain bad.
MDesigner 2 years ago
He *was* just rushing through it to get it over with...
Brideshead09 2 years ago
Be quiet, how would you know what Beethoven wanted? Need i remind you, he was deaf whilst composing this..
eatingyourbreadcrust 2 years ago
Do you really think he couldn't understand what he wanted just because he was deaf? He could hear it in his head before his pen hit the paper.
I prefer it to begin slow and speed up toward the end of each melodic line and retard again right before the end. Still a great performance.
Omegaweapon737 2 years ago 2
Actually, Beethoven was not yet deaf when he wrote this. He started really losing his hearing around the time he wrote the Moonlight Sonata.
MDesigner 2 years ago 3
@eatingyourbreadcrust no he wasnt deaf then... he composed this when he was like 27...
Wedsheport 2 years ago
too fast...i prefer it slower. also, i dont think he plays it with enough sense of legato; and the bass line should be stronger.
aweitzer1 2 years ago 2
very nice...but doesnt seem a little fast? idk
nanuka003 2 years ago 3
malhler151 - maybe it is because it was originally composed in his mind.
jokeistman 2 years ago
At 1:17-1:18, measure 22, B has a triplet 32nd grace note ornament written in ahead of the two 32nds that actually begin the measure. As noted in the Schirmer edition, the execution of this in strict time is impossible without, in effect, adding an additional 32nd to the measure. What Gould does is play the three graces and the two 32nds as a five-note pentuplet occupying the first 16th of the measure. I think his solution works rather well, as he arrives at the 8th note (G) on time.
Wxman52 2 years ago 7
this is what beethoven wanted. Divine Glenn..
giovannibrunoro 2 years ago 4
In my mind the only listenable version.
mahler151 2 years ago
not in my mind. Go listen to Sviatoslav Richter.
MrNobleSavagery 2 years ago
this version is terrible. especially 1:17 - 1:18. NOT how it's supposed to sound at all, in fact not even close to how it's written.
CheapLiquorDrinker 2 years ago
Although the notes added in are actually a fine addition if you ask me.
I actually have played this piece and thought that 1:17-1:18 was rather dull.
I appreciate the addition Gould!
dezxdestruction 2 years ago
@CheapLiquorDrinker ask you mommy to wipe that porridge off your mouth;)
TheMCjai1991 1 year ago
he had hearing when he wrote this piece.
CheapLiquorDrinker 2 years ago
Music like this is how my ears get laid.
horselips 2 years ago 76
@horselips Watch out, this piece gets around.
MountStEllyn 1 year ago
@horselips Nice and slow, too.
Sword1479 1 year ago
beethoven wrote this song deaf.. amazing. everything is incredible in this except the very end. it should have been less structured or something
rusle1 2 years ago
@rusle1: No. Although his hearing has begun deteriorate a few years previously, he certainly was not deaf when he wrote this.
pgdahl 2 years ago
What an interpretation! It's feels really playful especially the last time through the theme. I never thought I would hear it played like this. thanks for the post
DopplegangerLv21 2 years ago 2
Le falta potencia y le sobra tiempo.
Tectonico17 2 years ago
OMG he plays awesome but i have to say he plays pretty fast like for realz but still XD
romisamy 2 years ago
Interesting interpretation. It puts a twist on how I originally heard it. I've always heard it played very slowly so hearing this was a nice change. It wasn't too fast, but just enough to make a difference.
4lbatross 2 years ago 2
Gould was a genius... and possibly clinically insane. He all but completely hated all composers except J.S. Bach, the master of music as we know it. Gould had no use for other composers, and it shows in the performances. Freddy Kempf's reading of this piece is much more satisfying.
Jonnybass7 2 years ago
That is incorrect, his favorite composer was not Bach, but the composer Orlando Gibbons, and he obviously liked other composers, mostly polyphonic composers E.G. Berg
morvensky 2 years ago
Glenn Gould!