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I am a fan of Glenn Gould, yet his interpretations of Bach are often
thoroughly unconventional. How do I reconcile these recordings with my
own interpretations on harpsichord, organ, and clavichord? (My doctoral
degree is in harpsichord.)
The following links are to some of my postings in the Gould discussion group
"f_minor." I have participated in this group since 1995. The links are to the
public archives. More information about the archives is
here.
The discussions cover a variety of topics related to Gould, but frequently come
around to the same types of questions:
- "What do you think of Gould's different recordings
of the Goldberg Variations?"
- "How is Gould's recording of the Art of Fugue?"
- "How was Gould on harpsichord?"
- "Which are the best of Gould's Bach recordings?"
I've expressed my opinions along
these lines many times, somewhat differently every time according to the discussion, but
I thought it might be useful to group these postings together for reference whenever
the same questions come up again. (And again and again.)
It is also useful to see the discussion context around each message: click the
"Date Index" link inside the message. My postings are often reactions to
other people's postings, and make most sense when read in that context. Others
have valuable opinions and reactions, too, and these come out during the discussions.
Goldberg Variations, BWV 988
30 Jul 1997 -
Dislike of the 1981 because Gould plays too evenly and it's not graceful
5 Sep 1997
- 1959 has best flow, 1981 too intellectual and tight
11 Sep 1997
- My most detailed survey of all four: 1954, 1955, 1959, 1981...my order of preference is 1959, 1955, 1954, 1981
6 Apr 1998
- Common myths about the Goldbergs and other Bach works
9 Apr 1998
- Why the Goldbergs would not work on clavichord
15 Jun 1998
- A poem by Jean Janzen inspired by Gould's 1955 recording of the Goldbergs
5 Aug 1998
- Printed editions of the Goldbergs
11 Jan 1999
- A reference back to my 11 Sep 1997 survey
11 Feb 2000
- How many tracks on the 1981 CD: one or 32?
13 Feb 2000 -
Salzburg recital (1959) details
10 Jul 2000 -
More of my enthusiasm for the Salzburg 1959 as the best
13 Jul 2000 -
The Salzburg concert program performed on other occasions
4 May 2001 -
Questions to help listeners decide what they might want in a Gould recording of the Goldbergs....
8 May 2001 -
Desert island choice, the 1959 Salzburg recital
19 Nov 2001 -
Gould's four recordings compared against some other piano recordings of the Goldbergs...and enthusiasm for
a recent recording by Zhu Xiao-Mei
Art of Fugue, BWV 1080
(I will add these links later on another trip through the archives....)
Gould playing Handel on harpsichord
Gould's Bach from different parts of his career
11 Sep 1997
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(...) "I think that the [1981 recording] is not really a performance of the
Goldberg Variations, the piece by Bach; it's a performance of some other
piece about GG, happening during the time period in which all the notes of
the Goldberg Variations get played. As a portrait of GG's mind, though, I
suppose this performance is 'successful' as a different kind of art." (...)
1 Oct 1997
- How much should a Bach player put his/her own personality into the
interpretation?
Amazon.Com review 14 Feb 2001
of Gould's recording of the Bach Toccatas: "(...) If I sound rough on Gould in my
disenchantment with these performances, at least it's consistent: I think all his solo Bach
recorded before 1970 is marvelous, but then it dropped off quickly after that. His style
went around the bend there in the 1970's. It changed from 'Bach's music as played by Glenn
Gould' to 'Glenn Gould's didactic ideas about Bach.' It seemed that he stopped trusting
Bach's ability to make points on his own. He started coloring the music with heavy
fluorescent markers rather than simply playing it. Cerebral dissection replaced
straightforward joy and physical expression. Naturally dynamic phrasing and articulation
went out the window. Artifice replaced art.
Recorded over a span of 16 years, this set of the Toccatas is a microcosm of those changes
in Gould's approach to Bach. He sounds like four different people here: one with a naturally
musical style and a sense of fun playing Bach, but the other three too concerned with being
Glenn Gould. (...)"
(more links to be added later....)
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