Glenn Gould Discusses & Plays Strauss' Elektra

Glenn Gould talks about and plays a piano transcription of part of Richard Strauss' opera Elektra.

Intro by Bruno Monsaingeon. Also includes an excerpt of Gould playing his transcription of Schubert's 5th symphony at the beginning.

Short clip in which Glenn Gould plays a bit of Schubert's Symphony No5, de-orchestrated for piano.

This is iSight's transcription of a VHS tape's transcription of Gould's transcription of Strauss' transcription of the opera, so apologies about the poor video quality.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• classical
• richard
• strauss
• schubert
• glenn
• gould
• elektra
• opera
• piano
• transcription

[Pogouldiwitz]

In watching the Gould portion of the Art of Piano film he mentioned, I believe in the same program from this excerpt is taken, that if we can't get back to when performers had a composer's insight into music...and an audience consisting of composers or people that composed for themselves..that music is dead. Doesn't this go against his whole idea of democratization of music through recordings? Am I misunderstanding him? Was that statement taken out of next?

[p0lyph0ny]

Hmm...I think Gould hoped that the democratization of music and the universal (or near-universal) public access to recordings would also bring about an increase in the wider public's musical understanding, thus decreasing/eliminating these hierarchical divisions (performer/composer/audience).

-to be continued

[p0lyph0ny]

The analogy to 18th century is interesting, because then, it was really the stratification of society (between the educated upper class who took music lessons, heard concerts, etc; and the rest of society, who had access neither to formal musical education nor "art music" concerts) that allowed for an audience of composers. Then the industrial revolution came along and changed all of this, bringing concerts to a mass audiences and, some argue, causing the birth of the cult of virtuosity.

-t b c

[p0lyph0ny]

I think it was this phase of the development of music in society that Gould most argued against -- concerts where the virtuoso performed on the stage before huge audiences, in a certain sense lording his higher position over them. (Contrast to the smaller concerts of the pre-industrial revolution era.) I suppose Gould hoped that recording could undo this, both because of its greater public accessibility & because it encouraged the listener to more deeply understand & be involved in the music.

[wogandmush]

The interviewer looks like Dr. Strangelove!

[mrantiquedealer]

The man was a genius.... nothing elitist about that! Nowadays one is sued to seeing Bocelli or Fleming spoonfeeding the idiot public with stupid remarks about nothing. Gould ANYDAY!!!!

[RAREpicture]

bla bla bla

[schizoid911]

Does anybody know what composer (sounded like Vriehen to me) he mentioned and plays brief piece at 2.04 ?

[JeeRant]

Glenn's intro is a little misleading: he is not, as he implies, playing music from the second scene between Elektra and Chrysothemis's (in which Elektra, as he says, tries to implicate her sister in the murder plot), but music from their FIRST scene together, specifically Chrysothemis's aria " Ich kann nicht sitzen und ins Dunkel starren", etc.

[alienalienss]

@VivaRenata I don't get what you mean. He doesn't know the plot of Elektra very well? That's hardly of great importance. He's a musician, not a Strauss scholar, or a Sophocles scholar for that matter.

[VivaRenata]

Now wait a second! I always thought Glenn Gould was strange but brilliant. And I own his essays and have read them and agree with his opinions on Mozart. But how brilliant is he if he is commenting on Strauss's Electra and does not know Sophocles in and out - - his comments about chrysothemis' role just seem stupid.

I'm sorry, I'm embarrassed. But Strauss / Hoffmansthal have really worked with Sophocles as a point of departure.

[monkeynailz]

Gould had read Benjamin? i never knew!

[jeepgerhard212]

that Strangelovian interviewer is the then ubiquitous and facetious Humphrey Burton, a brit. Keep awake, indeed!

[riopiedra74]

question: where can I find a recording of any interpretation of elektra on the piano on CD?? any experts here who can help me??