The pureness of Glenn GOULD

[biorythme232]

He speaks like John Carmack... Coincidence ? :]

[marilyncrosbie]

@biorythme232 The only thing is John Carmack has an American accent and Glenn Gould was decidedly Canadian with a Torontonian accent. (I assume Torontonian, because he was born and raised there. I don't really know what a Torontonian accent, LOL).

[mistercleopatra]

@Guitarrosaurusrex After losing my breath through this two minute video, reading you call Glenn Gould "annoying to watch" is like getting shot in the face.

[TheGoldberg1984]

GENIUS!!

[DaGuittarMan]

What does he say at 1:58??

[colinthepianist]

@DaGuittarMan Sure sounds like "forgot the notes there". No wonder he said it so fast! lol

[marilyncrosbie]

@DaGuittarMan He said, "Whatever the notes are. And gradually the whole thing took off". My comment: He is really enjoying the music. He is being playful and inventive. Music is a joy for those who make it so.

[DaGuittarMan]

@marilyncrosbie That is what I thought he said too, but my friend kept telling me that he said "forgot the notes there". And I'm not american, so I just wanted a second opinion. Thanks

[marilyncrosbie]

@DaGuittarMan It's not very likely that Glenn Gould forgot the notes. He was brilliant and had an amazing memory for music.

[DaGuittarMan]

@marilyncrosbie Oh, I bet you're right!

[oneginee]

God Genius. The piano was part of him literally. A perfect extension of him. Even that is not a good description of it. The piano is an integral part of him, like anything else in his body and mind.

[moltoallegro19]

"Whatever the notes are...", hahaha, you just gotta love Glenn Gould, the way he so highly respects the old composers yet does the very opposite of what maestro Mozart wrote. I persoally don't think Mozart, of all people, would mind. He'd probably find it interesting and amusing.

[univibe23]

....the old joke of the surgical resident...when the Attending orders the resident to cut the suture (he just tied) he asks: "do you want me to cut it too long or too short"?

[SnarkAttack12]

THE PERVERSION! how DARE he change Mozart's Adagio to Allegretto! haha seriously people? Glenn Gould was winner

[marco29a]

Well this guy is dead! He was a great piano player, no one can refute this affirmation!

[mmcrosbie]

Yes he was!

[unpodimusica1]

I can't believe Gould disliked Mozart as much as he implied. His slow interpretation of the theme implies something entirely different, he seems to be positively lingering on it, as though he couldn't let it go. He often plays Mozart in this extreme slowness of tempo and it may sometimes sound tongue-in-cheek but to me it indicates a lingering affection for the music. In any case it has something. I personally might not play it so slowly but I love it nevertheless!

[davidhertzberg]

@unpodimusica1 FYI, there is an important part of this interview missing from the video clip: prior to playing this work, Gould is explaining to Bruno Monsaingeon that the entire piano repertory has already been played according to convention -- that is, all standard interpretations have been performed and recorded countless times, and that -- as he shows us with this sonata -- it is incumbent upon the artist to break new ground, according to the demands of the public. This was how he did it.

[SirGlennGould]

What ever the notes are ! XD

Hilarious !

[FutureAbe]

heh.. even though he didn't know the notes, he just improvised..

[philateliceun]

I often listen glenn gould and I have heard many pieces thanks to Gould. But when I later hear the older performances or traditional performances I always prefer Gould. The only player that gives me the same satisfaction as Gould is Richter.

[TokyoDoggyDog]

One amazing human being. I am speechless.

[claus93Sethsen]

t i find that some people try to play exactly the way a piece is written, it is of course fine to do so but the part that i hate is when they do that without trying something new.

[MiserableWish]

I must admit it gave me quite a scare. Don't worry, I am fine.

[sagosoosmar]

I bet if Mozart listened to that he would change the Adagio to Allegretto

[JacobRudduck]

Seems a really charming guy, despite all this shit that I've heard about him having aspergers and stuff...

[soylentgrun]

you can be charming and having aspergers too. you just look kinda weird (and very talented in a particular field) but it doesn't mean you can't be charming.

[JacobRudduck]

I guess so...

[EMPERORMIKI]

Hehe.

[pedantologist]

"whatever the notes are" lol!

[Jitpring]

Replace the word "pureness" with "purity."

[ProkofievRules]

I believe it was Michael Pletnev who said "A piece of music is like a composer's child. Eventually that child grows up, moves out, and meets other people, who interpret it in different ways." I see absolutely no problem with what he's done here. If one can't breathe new life into these old compositions, the job of a concert , after countless interpretations before him, becomes analagous to that of a museum tour guide.

[ObeeLektro]

I absolutely agree with you. Most people get use to hearing things one way and there is no give with them for any thing new and adventurous. In the end the question is, is it truly artistic, musical and/or revolutionary and moving, truly bringing something new to the table. In this case, Gould is absolutely genius. So elegant, eloquent refreshing and musical. So unfair, but I believe in do time they will get recognized for their true genius at work.

[guitartistica]

Exactly. Great analogy.

[sublicon]

good.

[iorixs]

it is just taking some artistic licence to respark interest in a piece

[nojstradamus]

"whatever the notes are" HA!

[EricTheRed03]

what piece is this?

[serjwill]

Gould is not arrogance...he is a genius!

[Dirkovic80]

@serjwil

hehehe he switched one variation of on of millions of mozarts piano sonatas on another tempo and you call him genious therefore ?

seriosly

all who think gould was genious for doing this , is nothing but an immusical retard without a brain

this ugly copy paster on his ugly child chair, got high by his own farts when he played , thats what i think

he must have felt like a composer when he copy pasted bach or mozart,,, and the applause of retards made him get this arrogant

[Dirkovic80]

@serjwill

let me correct myself on the last sentence

the aplause degenerated american retards

you stupid americans didnt even know who mozart or bach were before gould played them ...

that the farce of modern civilisation , the interprets of today get the credits for the masterpieces some totally different people created hundreds of years before their time ... he earned his money by reproducing mozart and he dared 2 trat him like this

shame on glenn gould

[trevjr]

I guess all the other performers know more than Mozart? No one can say for sure, everyone is guessing. Notice that Gould is accused of playing too slow or too fast. For me he has great musical logic for what he does. He is explaining his whole concept for the entire variations. Like it or not, the man was a genius.

[Dirkovic80]

@trevjr

well ofc an american degenerated fool couldnt understand german culture such as mozart or bach

he could only be jaelous about it like so many others ^ hahah

[taiwanelisa]

@Dirkovic80

obvious troll

[bunnyoneedge]

I thought he dislikes Mozart.

[Frozentoes1]

He did. But he liked to experiment with it and do what most would consider unorthodox....perhaps that too soft a word. I liked to play Mozart a la Bach.

[bambee]

Lol Don't You just Love this guy haha...

[terryregnar]

from 1:30 to 1:40 Gould at his BEST!

[humpitydumpity1]

I don't think he meant much by saying 'whatever the notes are'; I think he was just using the words to bring that part of his demonstration to a close. His words were just another way of saying 'etc'

[vinciano]

what did he say at the end of this video? beg me mozart?

[DanSandwich]

Nope, "whatever the notes are"

[weikko79]

What did he mean by that? Surely he knew what the notes were.

[usc23cal9]

I wouldn't put it out of the realm of possibility that he had a memory slip of sorts, or perhaps that he wasn't intending on actually getting into it at that moment, so he wasn't mentally prepared. Thank God for Gould, though. What a treasure...

[happymyster]

either he was being humorous or he thinks of the songs in terms of chords and is quasi-improvising.

[audioglass]

he is just the business!