Glenn Gould: The Mad Artist

Send us Fan MailDescriptionGlenn Gould is best remembered for his remarkable interpretations of the keyboard works of Johann Sebastian Bach. But he is also fondly thought of as having been extraordinarily peculiar—in the most endearing way. Join me, as we take a minute to get the scoop!Fun FactFrom an early age, Gould challenged the accepted norms of the “classical music biz.” After winning the first Kiwanis festival in Canada in 1944, he swore off competitions, claiming that they were antithetical to the nature of art. (He later declared that “competition, rather than money, is the root of all evil.”) Most controversial of all, he came to detest the live concert experience – for reasons of anxiety, and more importantly, for philosophical reasons. Fundamentally, he regarded his mission as an artist as a moral one: to experience and share a state of “ecstasy,” of a higher spiritual state. (The Glenn Gould Foundation 2021)About StevenSteven is a Canadian composer living in Toronto. He creates a range of works, with an emphasis on the short-form genre—his muse being to offer the listener both the darker and more satiric shades of human existence. If you're interested, please check out his website for more.A Note To Music Students et al.All recordings and sheet music are available on my site. I encourage you to take a look and play through some. Give me a shout if you have any questions.Got a topic? Pop me off an email at: [email protected] Love classical music? There's more to discover.If you enjoyed this episode, you can read the companion article and subscribe on Substack at The Classical Music Minute. And for a brand-new narrated classical music story every day, download the Classical Minute app for iPhone.Until next time, I'm Steven Hobé. Thanks for listening to The Classical Music Minute.