Re: GG: CBC questions

[Russell Lichter <lichter@earthlink.net>]

> [snip]
> > Why has GG been recognized not only as a 'great pianist" but also
> as an
> > icon?
I've read no books on Glenn Gould, so what follows is my take, based on
listening to him play, the tape of the Goldbergs and 32 Short
Films. Gould seems to me a personality simply too neurotic and ill-equiped
to function with ease around people: despite the obsessions with privacy,
I think there was a great, loving heart in there, reaching out from small
CBC studios, over the telephone, and, of course, through the music. Where
another great pianist might have an intense relationship with a composer's
music and we get to look in through a window, Gould gestures to us to enter
and partake of the feast, the music, the delight in technique, the intense
intelligence he poured into his work. Was it Nietzsche's Zarathustra
who said something along the lines of, We learn more from the mistakes
of great men, than the success of lesser men? Gould is a like a great
general who evokes powerful loyalty: we follow him on his musical journey
and are invariably rewarded with vistas and delights undreamt by lesser
pianists.
> Why do we "need" icons?
We don't. We need artists, and we need politicians who recognize that culture
is not a minor appendage to the national budget, but the essence of what
we're all about.
> Why do people take part in f_minor?
Usually I don't. Last time I responed was to excoriate the notion of stripping
GG's humming from the recordings. This time, well, because I like to share
my joy and admiration. I can only hope it's worth another's reading.
[snip]
>  
> >
> > Best,
> > MJ