Glenn Herbert Gould was born Glen Gold on September 25, 1932, in
Toronto, Ontario, Canada. His mother was a great-grand niece of
Edvard Grieg
. Young Gould was playing with piano from the age of 3, and
started regular lessons with his mother from the age of 4. At the age
of 10 Gould was admitted to the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto,
where his piano teacher was Alberto Guerrero. In 1946 Gould, then only
13 years old, successfully performed Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 4
with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. He made his first recording with
the CBC in 1950, and gradually came to liking the studio environment
better that a live performance to an audience.
Glenn Gould was touring with concert performances until the age of 31.
He was the first performer from North America to play in the Soviet
Union since the Second World War. His 1957 tour became possible because
Nikita Khrushchev
initiated the "Thaw" amidst the Cold War. Gould's concerts
featured
Johann Sebastian Bach
and
Ludwig van Beethoven
. He was also allowed to perform the music
of
Arnold Schonberg
, and
Alban Berg
which was previously under the ban by Soviet
censorship. Gould reciprocated by popularizing the music of
Dmitri Shostakovich
in
the West. In April 1964, Gould gave his last public performance in Los
Angeles, California.
For the rest of his life Gould devoted his career to recording,
writing, and broadcasting. His Grammy awarded 1981 studio recording of
'Goldberg Variations', as well, as his other recordings of music by
Johann Sebastian Bach
, are widely considered as definitive. Gould was posthumously
awarded another Grammy for his recording of Piano sonatas Nos. 12 and
13 by
Ludwig van Beethoven
. His unusual and inspirational interpretations of
classical repertoire were criticized by some and acclaimed by many. He
died of a stroke on October 4, 1982, and was laid to rest in Mount
Pleasant Cemetery in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Gould was especially known for his eccentric, but strong and convincing
performances. Although he could be sometimes heard saying a word or
quietly singing along with his playing, Gould was doing that
instinctively to achieve the final result, which was outstanding.
Gould played only his own piano. His Steinway piano was technically
adjusted to his touch. This adjustments enabled Gould to play piano
with superior control of the sound, which allowed him to make
recordings of very fine quality. He also said about his piano: "it is
the best vehicle to express my ideas."