I'm convinced that Glen is playing this piece so badly because he was upset he had to do a recording of Mozart for his record label. He couldn't get out of it so he just screwed around with it and there's nothing they could do about it. This is NOT how this piece should be played.
Cette version est extatique et peut paraître étrange à priori, Glenn GOULD a repensé l'oeuvre célébrissime, on dirait qu'il a transformé la sonate en suites !
glenn gould once said something like "If you can't play a piece and bring people to new insights forget it." and I fully agree with it. If we all play how it 'should' be it would all be the same. Different people, different interpretations, thats how it should be.
..and here he comes and challenges anything anyone has EVER done! Really, you have to admire Gould and his unorthodox way of viewing pieces such as this one. However, I don't really understand what he is doing with the theme at from 0:00 to 1:31. It has this thing for going forward that he doesn't use. Does anyone understand?
IM sorry but, I think Mozart was one of the greatest composers ever. His Music is Genius. for a recital I played sonata in C major kv 545 and after i heard it for the first time it brought tears to my eyes and what gould did with this piece is terrible. Mozart Beethoven Chopin Schumann Tchaikovsky Bach and Deboussy are the greatet composers..ever
@alfa00kenji Oh, he sure loathed his later works but admired his early stuff! Thought Mozart had become too much of a vaudevillian and less of a musician near the end of his rather short life, hence why he stated that Mozart dies too old rather than too young. And anyways... some of Mozart's music was experimental and sometimes it didn't really work out in Gould's perspective.
@NemoProkofiev551 True... but i don't think Mozart became less musician at the end of his life... he made great works, sonata in A it's from aprox 1781-1783, at the same period there is the K376 violin sonata, Die Entführung aus dem Serail, after that the beautiful concerto for piano n°20(this one i don't even considere a piece at classical style, it's something like pre-romantic), the Eine Kleine Gigue in 1789(i think Gould's interpretetion of this music would be great), and many others...
@NemoProkofiev551 I think Gould did not like Mozart because he did a lot of music to make money, but still beautiful songs... I read somewhere that he was obliged to record Mozart by the record label...
To all those who disparage Goulds technique, You will never as long as you live be able to replicate his artistry nor his technical ability. I suggest you listen to to the master of his art or STFU.
Mozart would have laughed but applauded genuinely then he would have composed a musical joke piece for Glenn Gould that would be hard to play to the end without bursting in laughter.
@Oroyamaru Glenn Gould is known to hum in the background while he plays, though many people who he has recorded for have tried to get him to do it more quietly or not at all
@Oroyamaru Yes, GG was well known for his intense humming in the background on many recordings except with orchestras where he moves his left arm like a second conductor !
@roman1akid Is there a reason to put words to master composers they never even said...? Yes, most realise that it is even stupid to say that. Even so, Glenn Gould always remains Glenn Gould.
@CSPlayerDamon Heh. To clarify: they all said it. Beethoven did marvel at the 24th piano concerto. Haydn regarded Mozart as a musician of the finest sort and praised him to his father. Kierkegaard considered Don Giovanni the finest work of music ever composed. He was Tchaikovsky's idol. Brahms lamented not being able to write as purely as Mozart and Haydn, and Karl Barth said the angels sing Mozart amongst themselves, and Bach to God. If you want sources, I'd gladly supply them.
Well, it can be said nobody else plays it like this. There's a lot of ego invested in it. It's like Vladimir Nabokov's collection of butterflies -- upside down. But it's dynamic as hell, isn't it?
I love this version. It begins almost whimsically, as though Gould were taunting Mozart; playing his music in an almost childlike fashion. Slow and methodical. Learning. But the tempo he sets gives a very clear indication of the difficulty of the piece (at such a slow pace) for we can hear every note. As it progresses Gould gains momentum and as he has already established the difficulty begins to show us his mettle. It reminds me of an avalanche: very slow onset but ultimately overwhelming.
I really don't like Mozart but I simply love this interpretation. I don't think Mozart would've minded. I think he'd have gotten a kick out of it, actually.
This is brilliant, I`ve never heard this piece played so passionately. A long line of pianists play this fast because they can`t play it well slow. Slow playing is very difficult because you have to stay in tempo and in the same time involve passion by using all available expression tools and that`s where many pianists fail when playing slow. When you`re slow every note and corelation between notes is exposed and measured by the ear.
@pianotuner101 Interpretation is a personal and subjective category. Why do you think your interpretation would eventually be better.This is a personal interpretation and you might like it or not. There`s no and will never be a universal unique perfect interpretation which every pianist seek to achieve, except his own interpretation. Whoever tends to do so lost time in practicing the piano and understanding music.
Glenn Gould is the only pianist who play this part of piano sonata 11 by Mozart well, because he' s the only one who play this part in Andante Grazioso. And everyone plays this too fast. I like this part only when it is in Andante. I play it like this tempo myself.
Isn't is great when someone comes and turns the table upside down, challenging every expectation and norm ? I love this performance regardless of whether he adhered to the "Mozartian playing Etiquette" or not. I think if Mozart heard this he would have been extremely happy that someone did this to this piece, maybe Gould would have inspired him to write something specially for him. Stop complaining and listen to a genius.. or else go buy a lang lang record and be happy !
@pianist007 He has deconstructed the piece too much, he needed half that. Not that I know Mozartien playing Etiquette. I listened to the other one of Mitsuko Uchida, on the site, still not that!...
Taken solely for itself (i.e. ignoring Gould's obnoxious comments about Mozart), Gould's performance compellingly binds this movement together. It's surprisingly difficult to do. These are variations on a theme, so they're inherently, well, repetitive. But Gould gives this movement an overarching structure that I find very satisfying.
yes but there's a whole manifesto of performance and tradition here... it is interesting art not psychic furniture, even if the art takes the form of graffito
@challeable Absolutely. It is hard to imagine that people would accuse him of being dishonest. It only takes one look at him to know that he is breathing and living every note. A rarity now days with most performers being concentrated purely on accuracy.
Please don't flame me, I love Gould. He was however, mental and oppositional defiant disorder. Some of his interpretations are junk, others are genius. All are indiosyncratic. (look it up in your Funkinwagnals).
Okay, I'm torn. After listening to the Theme, I was ready to write this off as a worthless interpretation. When I heard the liberties he took with Mozart's phrasing (and even some of the notes he flat-out changed), I was leaning more towards the worthless end of the scale.
He's got the right idea, though. Through the natural pacing of the piece, it starts out slow and gains momentum like a boulder rolling downhill. By the time you hit the end, it's been quite a ride.
Glenn Gould had 'oppositional/defiant disorder' which meant when you wanted to hear the notes he played supersonically. When you want a decent tempo he played it so slowly you wanted to bleed the piano. This is an example of the latter. Mozart (and everyone else under the sun) played these at least twice the speed.
I can listen to no other interpretation, especially the main theme -- the harmonies are "perfect" and the slow tempo lets you appreciate that. Play it extra slowly yourself on a real piano and you will hear what I mean.
I must say... this is an incredible interpretation of Herr Mozart (at least to my ears)! It is absolutely stunning! It has tremendous energy to it, but each note seems accurately separated from the other--obviously fitting for Mozart's style. I absolutely love this interpretation.
You'd never expect notes emphasized or not emphasized at all, in this way. I wonder where the 'classic' elements are. It sounds decidely romantic, maybe even playful, like he's not taking the piece seriously. Or....he just wants to think outside the box. His intonation is incredibly consistent, all fingers, you don't hear wrist in this. Okay....I think he wants us to hear what we don't usually hear in this piece, over done as it is.
I can understand trying to interpret this piece in a new and interesting way, but blatantly ignoring Mozart's phrasing, tempo and dynamics is not the way to go about it.
Bravo! Very boring opening and the first 3 variations were equally sleep-inducing, but the music comes alive in Var. 4, very cute, very playful, very characteristic. Var 5 which is adagio was taken at a fast pace (which is nice! other pianists slow it down to a snail's pace.... when in reality this piece has so many passages with running 1/64 notes... cmon even in adagio tempo marking those should still be fast) Var 6 is played at lightning speed and clearly shows his godly technique. 9.5/10
It is one thing to take liberties, it is entirely another to completely ignore mozarts phrasing, dynamics, tempi, slurring, etc to pander to an ego as enormous as Gould had. He actually is presenting this piece as oh he knows better than Mozart. How utterly pretentious. Dreadful, utterly incorrect interpretation. Not liberties, but total destruction!
Eccentric genius pianist... I don't mind his singing or the great liberties he takes with famous scores. Pianists should be like cooks preparing a meal in accord with their own tastes for others, using a recipe as a guidline, otherwise the pianist would just be an automatron.
This comment has received too many negative votesshow
Actually you are wrong.
I hear in this performance a wonderful thing.
You sir are mentally deranged, suffer from severe delusions stemming from a latent sexual desire for the same sex, and clearly lack any musical understanding.
What I say is of the utmost truth so to disagree would be foolish.
As I myself am careful not to make assumptions I suggest you take a few music lessons before you reply.
I find the beginning of this hard to handle but it gets more interesting as it progresses. I think there is a lot of room for interpretation but the performer should act to express the composers intentions as he thinks he intended. I think that criterion is met here. I have read that Gould disliked Mozart but if that is truly the case why would he have made this recording at all?
People! Look at the sheet musi! He plays this perfectly. with Mozart, you must pay a lot of attention to the intonation, and with this slow speed, it is very easy to hear how much care is put into each note. he expresses multitudes of feeling, and it's true, he takes this piece slower than most other pianists. Very good interpretation of the hardest composer to (feeling wise) play.
I agree with you. People are rather ignorant about the true element of perfection here. Most do not even ask theirselves, why does he play the piece in this manner. People just discard it right away. Ignorant people... One must asks himself why Gould would play it, and while wondering why, you should check the video right here on youtube where Gould explains for himself why and how he interpretates this piece the way he does. After that, sure post a well thought critism, but no more rubbish plz.
Agreed: also, his interpretation does have something new to say about the structure of the piece and in particular the way the variations "flow" into each other.
I completely agree with you. You can listen all notes, all sounds into the chords and I think it´s more expresive than others. He´s a bit crazy, I know, but it´s a wonderful and fantastic performance. He has a really strange and special playing. His touch is incredible!!!
I think you phrased it perfectly. "Strange and special." His version is incredibly in its own way. It mays me think of this sonata in a totally new way.
Yes, definitely, it has been played in a completely different way, and is very enjoyable once you get over the fact that this is not played the same as other pianists would play it. I still think that Gould is one of the greatest ever, and is definitely the greatest Bach player of the 20th century.
Intonation ... such a hard subject. On the piano, it happens a lot with the phrasing in and around the slurs (leggato) marks. Also, when there is no slur and/or staccato mark, you play it "Non-Legato." This is a great way for any musician, on any instrument to play a piece as the composer originally meant the piece to be played. Interpretation with the dynamics, speed, etc. are all good, but you should never, ever mess up the intonation of the music.
@thestubbornpig moron, intonation is actually the way that the piano is tuned and how well it stays in tuned. Your ears as well are intonated in a certain way, and you can re-intonate them by using varying pitches or keys to have a sustained "ring" in them. Intonation has nothing to do with how a piece is interpreted, and everything to do with how the piano is tuned.
What? You're calling intonation the way a piano is tuned? that is not right, in any way you look at it. The way a piano is tuned is the way a piano is ... well ... tuned. Intonation is how you play the piece, how deep in the key you go, how soft and loud, harsh (hopefully not) or soft. It has nothing to do with how a piano is tuned. You obiously don't have a very musically know-how teacher, or a teacher that feels any piece. You have to feel the piece and pay attention to the composers wishes.
That is articulation. You also forgot to mention portato. This is between legato and staccato, and with portato you can play very nuanced articulation.
mozart died 10 years too late? wow screw gould. he doesnt even know how to play this beautiful piece. listen to horowitz if you want to listen to the best interpretation for this piece.
Perhaps "screw gould" sounds ungracious and I would not subscribe to that term - but one should recall the sheer arrogance of Gould and I think his disdain and ridicule, above all, for Schubert, is unforgivable.
If Gould hated Mozart so much, why did he play him? How do you explain the effort and preparation that has gone into this recording of Mozart? Just because his idea of the music doesn't tally with yours doesn't give you the right to dismiss it as "mockery".
Music is only worth what you think it is worth. Hamburgers and caviar are not exactly the best analogies for musical works. Are you saying that you can put a quantitative VALUE to compare, say, Mozart's Symphony no. 40 and Bach's Goldberg Variations?
I am a huge Gould fan, but I don't think his style works to most Mozart pieces. In a way, I like this interpretation (and other works like the fantasy K.475), maybe I just have to get used to his Mozart playing or maybe I just feel you should not take liberties with Mozart.
@morvensky Many years ago I was offended listening Gould's Mozart, especially after reading his liner notes, in which he basically said he doesn't like the composer. He said - famously, I think - that Mozart's life was not too short, it was too long. Yikes! I sort of like this recording, though.
@TheRealDeal1515 over reacting... it may be out of context. ^^ Gould likes music, he likes Mozart's music just (or else why would he play it?). Finally he spoke with a lot of metaphores, maybe what he wanted to say is that mozart influence lastest too long.
@TheRealDeal1515 he was referring to the fact that he found late Mozart over-theatrical and showy, he much preferred the earlier sonatas with a more Baroque influence
@dchiapello yeah but in another 200 years mozart will still be appreciated for the genius he was and gould will be a footnote to a footnote in music history
I'm convinced that Glen is playing this piece so badly because he was upset he had to do a recording of Mozart for his record label. He couldn't get out of it so he just screwed around with it and there's nothing they could do about it. This is NOT how this piece should be played.
HoRavYehoshua 4 days ago
@HoRavYehoshua "This is NOT how this piece should be played." That's such a gross thing to say
TheHerbulator 1 day ago
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HoRavYehoshua 4 days ago
Cette version est extatique et peut paraître étrange à priori, Glenn GOULD a repensé l'oeuvre célébrissime, on dirait qu'il a transformé la sonate en suites !
MrTIRILLY 1 month ago
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"The tragedy isn't that Mozart died so young, but that he lived so long." -Glenn Gould
khronos365 1 month ago
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Very beautiful!!
marian444 2 months ago
is written: who dominate the Baroquer dominates all the rest ¡¡¡
erickingcastle 2 months ago
glenn gould once said something like "If you can't play a piece and bring people to new insights forget it." and I fully agree with it. If we all play how it 'should' be it would all be the same. Different people, different interpretations, thats how it should be.
philateliceun 2 months ago
saocrebaa........ 8 wutshi ismen yvelafers rac sheidleba adamianma thafiqrebis jams gamoscados........... aseti neli shesrulebit martla ar momismenia.......
gouldi klavesinis imitacias aketeb ... saocaria........ udidesi pianistia...........
Leosambo1 2 months ago
Ridiculous his Webernish approach to the sonata... It’s whimsical
Rickriquinho 2 months ago
If Mozart heard this he would roll over in his grave. Think this progressive? You fool, this is hideous.
savage1537 3 months ago
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Yoshi5020 4 months ago
About the only recording of this piece I enjoy.
mahler151 4 months ago
..and here he comes and challenges anything anyone has EVER done! Really, you have to admire Gould and his unorthodox way of viewing pieces such as this one. However, I don't really understand what he is doing with the theme at from 0:00 to 1:31. It has this thing for going forward that he doesn't use. Does anyone understand?
NemoProkofiev551 4 months ago
he makes it sound a lot like the old fortepianos from Mozarts time.
ossiacadenza1 5 months ago
IM sorry but, I think Mozart was one of the greatest composers ever. His Music is Genius. for a recital I played sonata in C major kv 545 and after i heard it for the first time it brought tears to my eyes and what gould did with this piece is terrible. Mozart Beethoven Chopin Schumann Tchaikovsky Bach and Deboussy are the greatet composers..ever
iLovemusikduhh 6 months ago
I can hear gandalf in the background.
marksaldana 6 months ago 9
@marksaldana Awesome comment.
cuallito 3 months ago
I can hear him in the background.
aybns 7 months ago
haha funny interpretation, he really hated mozart hahaha
alfa00kenji 7 months ago
@alfa00kenji Oh, he sure loathed his later works but admired his early stuff! Thought Mozart had become too much of a vaudevillian and less of a musician near the end of his rather short life, hence why he stated that Mozart dies too old rather than too young. And anyways... some of Mozart's music was experimental and sometimes it didn't really work out in Gould's perspective.
NemoProkofiev551 4 months ago
@NemoProkofiev551 True... but i don't think Mozart became less musician at the end of his life... he made great works, sonata in A it's from aprox 1781-1783, at the same period there is the K376 violin sonata, Die Entführung aus dem Serail, after that the beautiful concerto for piano n°20(this one i don't even considere a piece at classical style, it's something like pre-romantic), the Eine Kleine Gigue in 1789(i think Gould's interpretetion of this music would be great), and many others...
alfa00kenji 4 months ago
@NemoProkofiev551 I think Gould did not like Mozart because he did a lot of music to make money, but still beautiful songs... I read somewhere that he was obliged to record Mozart by the record label...
alfa00kenji 4 months ago
To all those who disparage Goulds technique, You will never as long as you live be able to replicate his artistry nor his technical ability. I suggest you listen to to the master of his art or STFU.
2geo0rge 7 months ago
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2geo0rge 7 months ago
I LOVE Gould playing Bach, .....anything else he plays is RUBISH!
vicenteaboites 8 months ago
@vicenteaboites
I agree! When he plays the piano on the Brandenburg Concertos, he nails it. In fact, I like him as much as Serkin when he plays Bach.
HoRavYehoshua 4 days ago
If Mozart is like what's portrayed in Amadeus, he would indeed be happy to listen to this interpretation.
ivanoschen 8 months ago
This isn't Mozart
This is Glenn Gould...
kapoios1996 8 months ago 4
Wer Bach zu spielen lernen will, kann es hier erfahren. Wer jedoch Mozart liebt, der suche sich besser eine andere Interpretation.
schneiterteam 8 months ago
beispielsweise von PUCHELT
schneiterteam 8 months ago
Mozart would have laughed but applauded genuinely then he would have composed a musical joke piece for Glenn Gould that would be hard to play to the end without bursting in laughter.
oneginee 8 months ago 3
Can anyone else hear the humming in the background, or are my ears failing me?
Oroyamaru 9 months ago
@Oroyamaru Gould is famous for humming while playing, much to the annoyance of his producers.
wiesje666 9 months ago
@Oroyamaru Gould is famous for humming while playing, much to the annoyance of his producers.
wiesje666 9 months ago
@Oroyamaru Glenn Gould is known to hum in the background while he plays, though many people who he has recorded for have tried to get him to do it more quietly or not at all
wiesje666 9 months ago
@Oroyamaru Yes, GG was well known for his intense humming in the background on many recordings except with orchestras where he moves his left arm like a second conductor !
Sylvain894 8 months ago
@Sylvain894 yes and sometimes he would conduct even when by himself on the piano, however he still hummed even with playing with orchestras
slovakmath 7 months ago
pessimo
federricoilgrande 9 months ago
wth man, i can play btr than this dude
feederking421624 9 months ago
@feederking421624 haha good one
starjake18 9 months ago
Quotes on Mozart
Haydn: (To Mozart's father) Your son is a genius of the highest order.
Beethoven: His piano concerto no. 24 is staggering. I will never equal it.
Kierkegaard: His Don Giovanni is perfection itself. Sublime.
Brahms: If only I could write as beautifully, or as purely, as him.
Tchaikovsky: Truly the God of Gods. I worship him privately.
Barth: The angels sing him amongst themselves.
Gould: Blah. Overrated monkey. He died too old rather than too young.
roman1akid 9 months ago 3
@roman1akid Is there a reason to put words to master composers they never even said...? Yes, most realise that it is even stupid to say that. Even so, Glenn Gould always remains Glenn Gould.
CSPlayerDamon 9 months ago
@CSPlayerDamon Heh. To clarify: they all said it. Beethoven did marvel at the 24th piano concerto. Haydn regarded Mozart as a musician of the finest sort and praised him to his father. Kierkegaard considered Don Giovanni the finest work of music ever composed. He was Tchaikovsky's idol. Brahms lamented not being able to write as purely as Mozart and Haydn, and Karl Barth said the angels sing Mozart amongst themselves, and Bach to God. If you want sources, I'd gladly supply them.
Thanks :)
nbaonnbc64 9 months ago
@nbaonnbc64 Yes, I really want sources cause I can never find quotes one master said for another T.T
CSPlayerDamon 9 months ago
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roman1akid 9 months ago
Well, it can be said nobody else plays it like this. There's a lot of ego invested in it. It's like Vladimir Nabokov's collection of butterflies -- upside down. But it's dynamic as hell, isn't it?
RMax304823 9 months ago
excellent performance
esdac 9 months ago
I love this version. It begins almost whimsically, as though Gould were taunting Mozart; playing his music in an almost childlike fashion. Slow and methodical. Learning. But the tempo he sets gives a very clear indication of the difficulty of the piece (at such a slow pace) for we can hear every note. As it progresses Gould gains momentum and as he has already established the difficulty begins to show us his mettle. It reminds me of an avalanche: very slow onset but ultimately overwhelming.
SpectralIntercourse 9 months ago
It's very beautiful. And, I don't know why, but it sounds so sad...
cupabara 9 months ago
I really don't like Mozart but I simply love this interpretation. I don't think Mozart would've minded. I think he'd have gotten a kick out of it, actually.
ProkofievRules 10 months ago
anyone who doesn't understand how good this is should commit suicide at this very moment.
avivsheriff 10 months ago
@avivsheriff That comment is too intemperate, and very un-Mozartian.
belzondium 9 months ago
watch?v=yYsTg14mATU
PesceA 10 months ago
Das den üblichen Interpretationen innewohnende Schlafmittel wurde weggeblasen.
kador500 10 months ago
This is brilliant, I`ve never heard this piece played so passionately. A long line of pianists play this fast because they can`t play it well slow. Slow playing is very difficult because you have to stay in tempo and in the same time involve passion by using all available expression tools and that`s where many pianists fail when playing slow. When you`re slow every note and corelation between notes is exposed and measured by the ear.
gulag1979 11 months ago 2
@gulag1979 it will never be in goulds mind to play mozart passionately.
megamurli 10 months ago
The worst interpretation I have ever heard. Come on people. The emporor is NOT wearing any clothes.
pianotuner101 11 months ago
@pianotuner101 Interpretation is a personal and subjective category. Why do you think your interpretation would eventually be better.This is a personal interpretation and you might like it or not. There`s no and will never be a universal unique perfect interpretation which every pianist seek to achieve, except his own interpretation. Whoever tends to do so lost time in practicing the piano and understanding music.
gulag1979 11 months ago 3
@pianotuner101 Surely you're not serious? It's so painfully slow it's almost going backwards.
pianotuner101 11 months ago
snoops4ever: it most clearly is you dumb.
Theonedue 11 months ago
This ain't Gould.
snoops4ever 11 months ago
He' s humming the most at variation three in Minore.
Jarnobh 11 months ago
I used to think Gould only played TOO FAST. I broke out in hysterics when I first heard him play the theme.
henrytheslayer 1 year ago
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henrytheslayer 1 year ago
Glenn Gould is the only pianist who play this part of piano sonata 11 by Mozart well, because he' s the only one who play this part in Andante Grazioso. And everyone plays this too fast. I like this part only when it is in Andante. I play it like this tempo myself.
Jarnobh 1 year ago
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Jarnobh 1 year ago
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Jarnobh 1 year ago
If you listen closely with good headphones on, you can hear him humming along to it as he plays
Alghazanth 1 year ago
Isn't is great when someone comes and turns the table upside down, challenging every expectation and norm ? I love this performance regardless of whether he adhered to the "Mozartian playing Etiquette" or not. I think if Mozart heard this he would have been extremely happy that someone did this to this piece, maybe Gould would have inspired him to write something specially for him. Stop complaining and listen to a genius.. or else go buy a lang lang record and be happy !
pianist007 1 year ago 35
@pianist007 AMEN, MY BROTHA!--you stole the words from my mouth.
tracyscoville 5 months ago
@pianist007 He has deconstructed the piece too much, he needed half that. Not that I know Mozartien playing Etiquette. I listened to the other one of Mitsuko Uchida, on the site, still not that!...
tony0letigre 4 months ago
ironic genius :)
thelonious76 1 year ago
he alsmot makes a mockery of the piece...i prefer bach (the daddy) over mozart but wuooldnt play it unless giving it EVERYTHING
trufiend138 1 year ago
Taken solely for itself (i.e. ignoring Gould's obnoxious comments about Mozart), Gould's performance compellingly binds this movement together. It's surprisingly difficult to do. These are variations on a theme, so they're inherently, well, repetitive. But Gould gives this movement an overarching structure that I find very satisfying.
diuscorvus 1 year ago 2
yes but there's a whole manifesto of performance and tradition here... it is interesting art not psychic furniture, even if the art takes the form of graffito
Bolinas1971 1 year ago
Beautiful... But a little slowwww for my taste?
mrcoffee999888 1 year ago
I find myself bored and falling asleep for this way too slow performance.
JoshdaROCKSTAR9999VS 1 year ago
/watch?v=3x0fKxwE5X4
I find this a better presentation of the piece.
jaspertjie 1 year ago
goulds good. mozart sucks.
beastlypianoplayer1 1 year ago
@beastlypianoplayer1 That is why Gould's heart and soul are not in this music.
KABRIS1 1 year ago
As good as he plays Bach, this is not at all to my taste.
abhikmazumder 1 year ago
I prefer the Pogorelich version U_U
Makenor13 1 year ago
If you listen carefully and in a good quality earphones, you can really hear Glenn's humming!
dannyevans89 1 year ago 2
@dannyevans89 I hear it! Can't decide if it's annoying or harmonic :P
Robinerd 1 year ago
love this. gould is my guy
Hankhankhank2 1 year ago
@Hankhankhank2
me too :-)
havapuppy 1 year ago
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stanchinsky 1 year ago
Gotta love how he sometimes during the performance is singing along to his own playing.. he's not just just playing the piece, he's living it!
challeable 1 year ago
@challeable Absolutely. It is hard to imagine that people would accuse him of being dishonest. It only takes one look at him to know that he is breathing and living every note. A rarity now days with most performers being concentrated purely on accuracy.
MegaCrazyDann 1 year ago
Please don't flame me, I love Gould. He was however, mental and oppositional defiant disorder. Some of his interpretations are junk, others are genius. All are indiosyncratic. (look it up in your Funkinwagnals).
petie32 1 year ago
Okay, I'm torn. After listening to the Theme, I was ready to write this off as a worthless interpretation. When I heard the liberties he took with Mozart's phrasing (and even some of the notes he flat-out changed), I was leaning more towards the worthless end of the scale.
He's got the right idea, though. Through the natural pacing of the piece, it starts out slow and gains momentum like a boulder rolling downhill. By the time you hit the end, it's been quite a ride.
bmwguymi 1 year ago 2
Glenn Gould had 'oppositional/defiant disorder' which meant when you wanted to hear the notes he played supersonically. When you want a decent tempo he played it so slowly you wanted to bleed the piano. This is an example of the latter. Mozart (and everyone else under the sun) played these at least twice the speed.
petie32 1 year ago
I can listen to no other interpretation, especially the main theme -- the harmonies are "perfect" and the slow tempo lets you appreciate that. Play it extra slowly yourself on a real piano and you will hear what I mean.
chaddyfromtheblock 1 year ago
Interesting take on it. He ends it like a carnival piece.
Markronimus 1 year ago
he's not playing, he's just playing :)
rometube 1 year ago
エステで働いている姉はタバコ吸ってお酒も飲めますが私はお酒もタバコも無理です。
rabbittown1900 1 year ago
Je trouve toujours intéressant la conception que Gould apporte à une pièce.
sdegrace 1 year ago
...oh!!! un Mozart muy a lo Gould...
mghnoesta 1 year ago
I must say... this is an incredible interpretation of Herr Mozart (at least to my ears)! It is absolutely stunning! It has tremendous energy to it, but each note seems accurately separated from the other--obviously fitting for Mozart's style. I absolutely love this interpretation.
LoquaciousInkSlinger 1 year ago
Well, no one can say this interpretation isn't great fun!
IpsaPaphum 1 year ago 3
I think his interpretation of this Sonata loses a little bit of Mozart's passion. It interesting, but not fascinating.
KeiKeiSoFly 1 year ago
You'd never expect notes emphasized or not emphasized at all, in this way. I wonder where the 'classic' elements are. It sounds decidely romantic, maybe even playful, like he's not taking the piece seriously. Or....he just wants to think outside the box. His intonation is incredibly consistent, all fingers, you don't hear wrist in this. Okay....I think he wants us to hear what we don't usually hear in this piece, over done as it is.
NatureMovies 1 year ago
@NatureMovies But mozart was a very playful individual, and he enjoyed breaking the grain. I like this version personally, its not boring.
seektheforce 1 year ago
Comment removed
NatureMovies 1 year ago
I can understand trying to interpret this piece in a new and interesting way, but blatantly ignoring Mozart's phrasing, tempo and dynamics is not the way to go about it.
warnjr2 1 year ago 3
Bravo! Very boring opening and the first 3 variations were equally sleep-inducing, but the music comes alive in Var. 4, very cute, very playful, very characteristic. Var 5 which is adagio was taken at a fast pace (which is nice! other pianists slow it down to a snail's pace.... when in reality this piece has so many passages with running 1/64 notes... cmon even in adagio tempo marking those should still be fast) Var 6 is played at lightning speed and clearly shows his godly technique. 9.5/10
kb27787 1 year ago
Please compare: /watch?v=kxBidC4jxds
alienalienss 1 year ago 2
I definitely love this movement.
EPhoete 1 year ago 2
love gould but crack doesn't work for mozart...
spexxers 1 year ago
It is one thing to take liberties, it is entirely another to completely ignore mozarts phrasing, dynamics, tempi, slurring, etc to pander to an ego as enormous as Gould had. He actually is presenting this piece as oh he knows better than Mozart. How utterly pretentious. Dreadful, utterly incorrect interpretation. Not liberties, but total destruction!
Chopin1976l 1 year ago
Eccentric genius pianist... I don't mind his singing or the great liberties he takes with famous scores. Pianists should be like cooks preparing a meal in accord with their own tastes for others, using a recipe as a guidline, otherwise the pianist would just be an automatron.
LazyTranslator 1 year ago
This is awful and awfully pretentious!!!!
bayreuth79 1 year ago
Comment removed
alienalienss 1 year ago
the last two minutes are really awesome, Goulds accuracy in pacing is incredible
Offin 1 year ago
Very unusual - apostrophied I think I heard him say. Nice to hear it played so differently for a change.
boundsie99 1 year ago
he's singing along while playingg zZZzZz
galaxie0709 1 year ago
I quite Gould but this is just silly.
HenryClarson 1 year ago
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.....................
schonklang 1 year ago 2
I love how he purposely plays the first movement slow and simply so you really can hear the complex evolution of the theme by the end! brilliant.
anzioa 1 year ago
I like this. Maybe you don't or maybe you do.
claus93Sethsen 1 year ago
don't demand something you want to hear, but try to understand what gould is saying, and you will see how genius is this
(ok ok, if you want hear what this is suppose to be this piece is played by MANY MANY other pianist, so go away)
but i think this should be named "Glenn Gould plays Mozart-Gould Sonata in A major K 331 1st MVT "
exanovaa 1 year ago 2
I think this is the best version of this Sonata. and thats that!
theoak84 1 year ago
thank you for this, I was just watching that other video and wished that this was here. And now it was.
justo4343 1 year ago
perfect
The0ubik 1 year ago
Vi prego ragà, glie la pago io la cocaina... basta che va un po' più spedito con quel tema...
MatitoneMalTemperato 1 year ago
Interpretation makes the piece look different. Different doesn't mean worse.
Angel94angel94 1 year ago
was that mozart 331 sonata?
Bad interpretation
Emili4n00 1 year ago
Was that mozart 331?
bad
glenn gould plays very good Bach but not Mozart
Emili4n00 1 year ago
I really love this song.
The only thing though, is when I play it, I like to pedal just about everything and I play it a bit faster. It makes it a lot better.
iBeCookieP 1 year ago
the best way to play a mozart sonata is to play as mozart played it =)
faleru 1 year ago
I don't care about what people say .............. I didn't listen to anyone play this piece better than him
bachkwt 1 year ago
Does anyone actually take this seriously?
organman52 1 year ago 2
The variations flow right into another. I think Gould gives much more attention to the structure than other preformers.
supraxnet 2 years ago
@supraxnet What are you TALKING ABOUT ? This is ATROCIOUS. Don't you HEAR that?
organman52 1 year ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
Actually you are wrong.
I hear in this performance a wonderful thing.
You sir are mentally deranged, suffer from severe delusions stemming from a latent sexual desire for the same sex, and clearly lack any musical understanding.
What I say is of the utmost truth so to disagree would be foolish.
As I myself am careful not to make assumptions I suggest you take a few music lessons before you reply.
Good day sir.
EMPERORMIKI 1 year ago
@EMPERORMIKI I just got back from taking some music lessons - and guess what? Not only is ghould still deranged, but SO ARE YOU. Now GET LOST.
organman52 1 year ago
@EMPERORMIKI: Let's see..how should i say this....
YOU ARE A RETARD. Anyone who calls someone gay by saying,
"suffer from severe delusions stemming from a latent sexual desire for the same sex," is a retard.
vittorio1224 1 year ago
Well if you knew anything of the ogre the comment was directed at you might think otherwise.
EMPERORMIKI 1 year ago
@EMPERORMIKI
oh, sure, I forgot you're an expert on organman52
But either way, that's a really stupid way to say it.
vittorio1224 1 year ago
Well, you aimlessly compliment organman (you can guess which ones hes proficient "on") ...
so rephrase please.
EMPERORMIKI 1 year ago
@EMPERORMIKI
I've never complimented organman2.
I've just told you that what you said was stupid
vittorio1224 1 year ago
Of course it's stupid ... I'm talking to Organman ...
How many other ways can I say this ?
EMPERORMIKI 1 year ago
if only mozart came to us and showed us how this piece is supposed to be played... u.u
faleru 2 years ago 2
i bet if mozart was here incognito and told us, noone would believe him and everyone yelling, haha i can see it :-)
kowalsky111 2 years ago 3
I find the beginning of this hard to handle but it gets more interesting as it progresses. I think there is a lot of room for interpretation but the performer should act to express the composers intentions as he thinks he intended. I think that criterion is met here. I have read that Gould disliked Mozart but if that is truly the case why would he have made this recording at all?
Reidsmith1000 2 years ago 2
Superb, specially Var. V and VI
ericdts 2 years ago
interesting
aweitzer1 2 years ago
People! Look at the sheet musi! He plays this perfectly. with Mozart, you must pay a lot of attention to the intonation, and with this slow speed, it is very easy to hear how much care is put into each note. he expresses multitudes of feeling, and it's true, he takes this piece slower than most other pianists. Very good interpretation of the hardest composer to (feeling wise) play.
thestubbornpig 2 years ago
I agree with you. People are rather ignorant about the true element of perfection here. Most do not even ask theirselves, why does he play the piece in this manner. People just discard it right away. Ignorant people... One must asks himself why Gould would play it, and while wondering why, you should check the video right here on youtube where Gould explains for himself why and how he interpretates this piece the way he does. After that, sure post a well thought critism, but no more rubbish plz.
Temptezt 2 years ago 2
Agreed: also, his interpretation does have something new to say about the structure of the piece and in particular the way the variations "flow" into each other.
flibbertergibbet 2 years ago
I completely agree with you. You can listen all notes, all sounds into the chords and I think it´s more expresive than others. He´s a bit crazy, I know, but it´s a wonderful and fantastic performance. He has a really strange and special playing. His touch is incredible!!!
wilderbom 2 years ago 2
I think you phrased it perfectly. "Strange and special." His version is incredibly in its own way. It mays me think of this sonata in a totally new way.
isayhi72 1 year ago 2
Yes, definitely, it has been played in a completely different way, and is very enjoyable once you get over the fact that this is not played the same as other pianists would play it. I still think that Gould is one of the greatest ever, and is definitely the greatest Bach player of the 20th century.
airsoftersMARS 1 year ago
what is intonation on piano? pls explain
kowalsky111 2 years ago
Intonation ... such a hard subject. On the piano, it happens a lot with the phrasing in and around the slurs (leggato) marks. Also, when there is no slur and/or staccato mark, you play it "Non-Legato." This is a great way for any musician, on any instrument to play a piece as the composer originally meant the piece to be played. Interpretation with the dynamics, speed, etc. are all good, but you should never, ever mess up the intonation of the music.
thestubbornpig 2 years ago
@thestubbornpig moron, intonation is actually the way that the piano is tuned and how well it stays in tuned. Your ears as well are intonated in a certain way, and you can re-intonate them by using varying pitches or keys to have a sustained "ring" in them. Intonation has nothing to do with how a piece is interpreted, and everything to do with how the piano is tuned.
skruss777 1 year ago
What? You're calling intonation the way a piano is tuned? that is not right, in any way you look at it. The way a piano is tuned is the way a piano is ... well ... tuned. Intonation is how you play the piece, how deep in the key you go, how soft and loud, harsh (hopefully not) or soft. It has nothing to do with how a piano is tuned. You obiously don't have a very musically know-how teacher, or a teacher that feels any piece. You have to feel the piece and pay attention to the composers wishes.
airsoftersMARS 1 year ago 2
That is articulation. You also forgot to mention portato. This is between legato and staccato, and with portato you can play very nuanced articulation.
nmvdw 1 year ago 2
mozart died 10 years too late? wow screw gould. he doesnt even know how to play this beautiful piece. listen to horowitz if you want to listen to the best interpretation for this piece.
deerodchan 2 years ago
I think Gould's very slow playing is a deliberate mocking of Mozart. We know he hated him - "Mozart died 10 years too late". Screw Gould.
manco82 2 years ago
Perhaps "screw gould" sounds ungracious and I would not subscribe to that term - but one should recall the sheer arrogance of Gould and I think his disdain and ridicule, above all, for Schubert, is unforgivable.
sorim1967 2 years ago 3
If Gould hated Mozart so much, why did he play him? How do you explain the effort and preparation that has gone into this recording of Mozart? Just because his idea of the music doesn't tally with yours doesn't give you the right to dismiss it as "mockery".
flibbertergibbet 2 years ago
@manco82 when did gould say "Mozart died 10 years too late"
slovakmath 2 years ago
Comment removed
qorqhwl 2 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
if u want REEL music listen too SNOOP DOGGGG
cherilynreimers 2 years ago
who is this snoop dogggg you speak of? XD
faleru 1 year ago
To: EMPERORMIKI (I'm not english speaker, so my words can be bit weird)
there are two of my favourite , it's mac hamburger and caviar.
both are so good, and both are loved by many people.
but do you think their level is same?
There do exist the difference between musics, they have their own character and sound. but there do exist the gap of worth and level
qorqhwl 2 years ago 3
Music is only worth what you think it is worth. Hamburgers and caviar are not exactly the best analogies for musical works. Are you saying that you can put a quantitative VALUE to compare, say, Mozart's Symphony no. 40 and Bach's Goldberg Variations?
jojopooo 2 years ago
Well again, you cannot prove that a mcdonalds burger is better than caviar--some people will prefer one to the other and some will like both and on.
But that is no way proves that either is better than the other.
Kind of a weird analogy concerning music?
Preference, like religious belief, is in no way evidence.
EMPERORMIKI 2 years ago
I am a huge Gould fan, but I don't think his style works to most Mozart pieces. In a way, I like this interpretation (and other works like the fantasy K.475), maybe I just have to get used to his Mozart playing or maybe I just feel you should not take liberties with Mozart.
morvensky 2 years ago 9
@morvensky Many years ago I was offended listening Gould's Mozart, especially after reading his liner notes, in which he basically said he doesn't like the composer. He said - famously, I think - that Mozart's life was not too short, it was too long. Yikes! I sort of like this recording, though.
dchiapello 1 year ago 7
@dchiapello Did he really say that? Damn, and I was actually starting to like Gould's music.
You know what, fuck Gould, he's an asshole.
TheRealDeal1515 11 months ago
@TheRealDeal1515 over reacting... it may be out of context. ^^ Gould likes music, he likes Mozart's music just (or else why would he play it?). Finally he spoke with a lot of metaphores, maybe what he wanted to say is that mozart influence lastest too long.
LLPorduction 10 months ago
@TheRealDeal1515 he was referring to the fact that he found late Mozart over-theatrical and showy, he much preferred the earlier sonatas with a more Baroque influence
lifedoctor 10 months ago
@dchiapello yeah but in another 200 years mozart will still be appreciated for the genius he was and gould will be a footnote to a footnote in music history
shroomingnewman 9 months ago
@shroomingnewman You think that anyone that appreciates this music and listens to BACH won't know Glenn Gould? Names go side by side...
CSPlayerDamon 9 months ago