Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Nicholas Faller
Introduction to Graduate Studies in Music II
University of Missouri
Spring 2017
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Introduction
Of the many performers who have contributed to the growing body of knowledge
on the performance practice of Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750), few have challenged
tradition and convention to the same extent as the Canadian pianist, Glenn Gould (1932-
1982). Noted for his idiosyncratic and eclectic approach to authentic style and
interpretation, Goulds fame arose at an early age with the recording of one of Bachs
most celebrated works, the Goldberg Variations (1741). Through Goulds performances,
lectures, writings, and recordings of this iconic piece a certain pattern emerges in his
formalism, the notion of performer as composer, and the emphasis on interactivity in the
act of listening. Synthesis of the writings on Goulds aesthetic philosophies with analysis
of his recordings of the Goldberg Variations will provide a clearer understanding of the
As both a celebrated public figure and exceptional musician, Gould has been the
subject of a significant body of scholarly writing. Materials for this study include
literature addressing the social and cultural factors that influenced Goulds interpretations
of Bachs music as well as detailed score studies and analysis of both Goulds 1955 and
1981 recordings of the Goldberg Variations. Also cited are several definitive biographies
of Gould whose authors document his wildly successful career and highlight his many
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aesthetics: published interviews, video lectures, and personal anecdotes from colleagues
and friends.
philosophies as they apply to specific steps in Goulds creative process, in this essay I
explanation for an imaginative mind that is too often simplified or dismissed as eccentric.
In addition, examples from Bachs Goldberg Variations will provide tangible examples of
Background
Born in Toronto in 1932, Glenn Gould showed incredible proficiency on the piano
in his childhood. Motivated and precocious, He quickly developed into one of the most
revolutionary concert pianists of his time. Over the course of his musical development,
Gould began to favor works of the Baroque, Classical, and late Romantic periods for their
Romantic and Impressionistic works, especially those that were at the core of the piano
repertoire in his youth.1 As these musical preferences demonstrate, Gould found joy in
the intellectual challenges of the music that he played, primarily focusing on formal
showed favor towards older musical styles, Goulds methods for musical interpretation
were far from traditional. His remarkable technical skill provided him with the capability
the Goldberg Variations (released in 1955). This performance, as one of the few existing
recordings of the piece in the 1950s, both propelled Gould to international fame and
solidified the pieces place in contemporary piano repertoire.2 The record, infused with
Goulds remarkable ability and personal eccentricity, was the result of years of obsessive
preparation. Gould favored a practice technique called tapping, pioneered by his teacher
Alberto Guerrero, during which the pianist would produce the sound of each note by
tapping each finger with the non-playing hand. This exercise built a sense of economical
and relaxed muscle movement, allowing Gould to push beyond the technical and musical
Critics raved about Goulds flagship recording, proclaiming him to be one of the
most important pianists of his generation. One reviewer from the New York Times
Gould has skill and imagination, and the music appears to mean something
to him. He also has a sharp, clear technique that enables him to toss of the
3 Kevin Bazzana, Wondrous Strange: The Life and Art of Glenn Gould (New York:
Oxford University Press, 2004), 72.
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Many critics targeted Goulds idiosyncrasies and his iconoclastic creative approach. For
Not long after, Gould retired from the concert stage in favor of the recording
studio. He cited his displeasure with his inability to realize his artistic potential on the
concert stage fully, as well as a deep infatuation with the possibilities of electronic
media.6 Gould continued to record, compose, and lecture until his death in 1982, just
after the release of his final recording of the same piece that had catapulted him to fame,
Platonic Idealism and Formalism are the aesthetic beliefs that form the core of
Goulds interpretational practices. While Gould did not receive a formal philosophical
4 Ibid., 154.
5 Peter F. Ostwald, Glenn Gould: The Ecstasy and Tragedy of Genius (New York:
W. W. Norton, 1997), 133.
education or even finish high school, his beliefs can be strongly inferred from his
formal structure and coherence as the most fundamental aspects in the identity of a
This approach is best reflected in Goulds choice of tempo for the piece. His 1955
facility and adept realization of the counterpoint, Gould chose some incredibly quick
tempi for each of the variations. Few, if any, of these match the tempi suggested by the
Kirkpatrick edition and were likely chosen in an effort to demonstrate his exceptional
9 Ibid., 5.
10 Ibid.
I could not recognize or identify with the spirit of the person who made
that recording. It really seemed like some other spirit was involved, and as
a consequence I was very glad to be doing it again As Ive grown older
Ive found many performances, certainly the great majority of my own
performances, are just too fast for comfort.12
the Goldberg Variations. Gould believed that the piece should have a single pulse, with
complex divisions of this pulse serving as subsidiary pulses for each variation.13 The
presence of a single pulse was essential to creating a structurally unified whole. Gould
believed that, because of the varied range of moods and textures presented in the
variations, the piece provides a distinct challenge in the avoidance of its sounding like
And yet, Gould was not always consistent with his formalist approach. Rather
than draw attention to the repeated bass pattern, a unifying device first heard in the aria
14 Ibid., 14.
15 Ibid., 27-28
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Whether Gould was ignoring the unifying material or was simply trying to draw attention
formalism with raw expression, allowing the music to speak for itself.
performer as co-composer. Gould was firmly opposed to the work concept of music, in
which the physical score encompassed every single detail of a piece of music.17 Gould
altered the score without hesitation in an attempt to realize his own aesthetic ideals. He
was a great advocate of this approach to music and, in an interview found on The Art of
Piano, lectured:
I think that what happened in the 18th century when performers stopped
being composers was the great disaster for music and I think that to look at
it today as an irrevocable move and to say that this is not any longer
correctible; that we cannot in fact get back to that glorious time when
performers had a composers insight into music and when an audience
consisted largely of people who performed and composed for themselves;
that we cannot get back to that I think is simply to say is music is
finished.18
16 Ibid., 28
18 Donald Sturrock, The Art of Piano: Great Pianists of the 20th Century [DVD]
(NVC Arts, 2002).
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was known at the time for adhering to the contemporary trends in Baroque performance
dynamics.19 It is extremely likely that the information presented in this edition played a
The very fact that three copies of this edition of the Goldberg Variations were
housed in the Glenn Gould Archive in the National Library of Canada, and no other
editions were retained, provides another interesting look into Goulds approach to the
piece. It shows that Gould had relatively little interest or concern for the quality of the
editions that he chose over the course of his almost thirty-year history with the piece.
There is absolutely no indication, written or otherwise, that Gould ever consulted other
editions or publications for the purpose of critical analysis.20 Therefore, his only concern,
according to Nicholas Hopkins, was recreation of the score according to his own
Even the emergence of the Handexemplar, Bachs edited copy of the Goldberg
Variations (found in 1974) did not make a mark on Goulds second recording of the ionic
work (1981). Although Gould was likely aware of its existence, it is likely that he was
21 Ibid.
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either entirely convinced with his own interpretation or that he was unable to reconcile
these new findings with his own beliefs about how the piece should be performed.22
Goulds refusal to adapt to this new information further reflected his belief that the
performer had both the right and responsibility to alter the information in the score
according to his or her own aesthetic conception of the piece.23 Gould made significant
pauses. For the purpose of brevity, only the issue of dynamics will be addressed.24
and forte (terraced dynamics), with forte being the prevailing dynamic for the piece as
outlined by the Doctrine of Affections.25 Gould adhered to these aesthetic principles and
polyphonic structure.26 This could be done to draw attention to inner voices, which were
22 Ibid., 11-12
23 Ibid.
25From Hopkins, Glenn Goulds Goldberg Variations, 17: ...An aesthetic concept
prevalent in Baroque music that stipulated that a piece should assume a single character
for its duration.
between voices, or to emphasize parts responsible for the forward momentum of the
piece.27 These clearly marked dynamic choices, coupled with Goulds dynamic nuances
Possibly the most controversial philosophy that Gould championed, was his belief
that the concert hall would soon become obsolete as the main means of musical
approach that he contended would provide greater clarity to the creative communication
taking place between the performer and their audience.28 The detailed and arguably
obsessive practices that became habit in his childhood now followed him into the studio,
form that was not possible in the cult of personality that surrounded public performance.
In this manner, the studio achieved the perfect blend of artistic and social freedom.29
for personal musical ideas, allowing him the opportunity to capture his true musical
thoughts through seemingly endless repetition, editing, and experimentation while also
27 Ibid., 17-18.
28 Tim Hecker, "Glenn Gould, the Vanishing Performer and the Ambivalence of the
Studio," Leonardo Music Journal XVII (2008), 77.
29 Ibid., 78.
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isolating him from any external social factors that might have attempted to influence his
creative process. This solitude was also extended to listeners, placing them in an
environment free of any social pressure that might have colored their opinion of the
music. This overwhelming level of musical control proved to be in direct contrast to the
musical trends of the late twentieth century, with the aesthetic philosophies of composers
such as John Cage and Karlheinz Stockhausen moving in the direction of aleatory
chaos.30
Gould believed that the creative freedom that this environment granted both the
performer and the audience resulted in a symbiotic process, accelerating the development
of new, revolutionary ideas as channels of pure communication were opened through this
medium.31
Goulds expectations on the listener extend far beyond the capabilities of most members
of his audience. Not only did Gould expect a high degree of creative thought from his
listeners, but he expected many to use these newfound insights in an attempt to create
through new technical processes like tape splicing.32 Furthermore, the complete state of
solitude granted to the listener is greatly exaggerated. Goulds reputation for eccentricity
30 Ibid.
31 Hecker, Glenn Gould, the Vanishing Performer and the Ambivalence of the Studio.
79.
32 Ibid.
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would have preceded him to any listener purchasing his recordings and would have likely
had some influence on their perception of the music. Therefore, this aesthetic
philosophy, while not entirely grounded in reality, was representative of a utopian ideal of
musical transmission.
Not only did these utopian ideals influence Goulds choice of musical
transmission, but also his interpretational process. With production aesthetics becoming
almost an instrument on its own, Gould attempted to expand his technical virtuosity to
the realms of studio recording. This is most clearly seen in his split preference between
recording as true representation and the idea of musical artifice.33 In his 1981 recording
of the Goldberg Variations, Gould recorded twenty full takes of the aria before he
eventually found an interpretation that he enjoyed, claiming that it took that many takes
to erase any superfluous expression from his playing.34 In contrast, Gould spliced
together several different takes of a prelude from The Well Tempered Clavier, creating a
Conclusion
distinguish him as one of the most highly discussed musicians of the twentieth century.
33 Ibid.
34 Geoffrey Payzant, Glenn Gould: Music and Mind (London: Van Nostrand Reinhold,
1978), 37.
35 Ibid., 39.
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Despite the dismissal by numerous critics over the course of his career, Goulds distinct
process. Most of the philosophies that Gould and his researchers outlined are, indeed,
utopian in their construction, and as a result the effectiveness of their impact on Goulds
interpretation of the Goldberg Variations and the effect on his audience was questionable.
The unfortunate reality is that music, in its most abstract sense, is not a tangible
phenomenon. While the score itself is a valuable tool in the reproduction of a broad and
general musical structure, it does not capture the true essence of a single musical
choices. Instead, the audience has the responsibility to make an educated judgment about
the performance, one informed by a broad knowledge of existing theories and practices
regarding the music in question. These conclusions must be open to new research and the
musicologist, Kevin Bazzana. Relatively little investigation has been done regarding
how Goulds creative process relates to the aesthetic philosophies that emerged in the
existing research.
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The study conducted in this essay portrays Gould as a significant and thoughtful
creative mind, rather than a merely aberrant individual. While study of his belief system
does illuminate and contextualize his creative practices, it does not necessarily make
Goulds choices any less polemic. This controversy is, in fact, representative of one the
most important and profound victories of Goulds prolific career: study of Goulds
standards, which, for aspiring musicologists, performers, and critical listeners, is one of
the greatest creative gifts that the Gould could have given.
Bibliography
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______. Wondrous Strange: The Life and Art of Glenn Gould. New York: Oxford
University Press, 2004.
16
Eatock, Colin, ed. Remembering Glenn Gould: Twenty Interviews with People Who
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17
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