Customer Reviews

Great Pianists of the 20th Century - Glenn Gould

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Everything from Gould is an event, of one kind or another. There is a popular representation of him as wilful and perverse, and while I can think of certain performances by him that could be described in that way, in general I find far less eccentricity in his playing than I do in Richter's, and absolutely none on these two discs. To support the stereotype of Gould the liner-note quotes some pompous huffiness and puffiness from Brendel, no less, and while I admire Brendel greatly I couldn't help thinking when I read that their dates of birth were little more than a year and a half apart that one main difference between them was that Brendel was born aged 45.

I would guess that the Mozart fantasia and fugue here will be the performance that most divides opinion. It is stern and forceful, and there is far more of my idea of Mozart in it than in a lot of the bijou tinkling I often hear. There is no Bach at all, and for that relief much thanks. Gould's wonderful Bach-playing is easily obtained elsewhere, as Ken Winters says in his excellent liner-note, and this set displays some part of his true range. The early 18th century is represented by three Scarlatti sonatas, a brief but memorable interest of Gould's. He does not try to reproduce the effect of the harpsichord as Horowitz memorably does, and in that respect he more resembles Lipatti and Michelangeli, although I doubt if you would mistake him for either. What I found particularly fascinating was the first 11 tracks on the first disc, a selection of pieces by Byrd and Gibbons, two composers especially dear to my own heart. Winters draws attention with great sensitivity to a strong `English accent' in Gould's renderings, although I hasten to add that this does not remind me in any way of the strange pseudo-English accent in which Gould spoke. The rest of the first disc consists of Haydn's E flat sonata # 49, for me the greatest of Haydn's piano sonatas, and for the first time I'm hearing a performance that is a serious rival to my iconic account by Serkin at his 75th birthday concert in the Carnegie Hall. I have another performance of it by Gould in the series of Haydn sonatas that he did not live to complete, but this one is enormously better. The slow movement is simply wonderful, and Gould's lightness of touch conveys the power of the expression without a certain solemnity as from Serkin. I am greatly in favour of the slow tempo he takes in the finale this time, and while I don't yet think he quite equals Serkin in giving a sense of wintry unease, this is a different way of doing the same thing and I could yet change my opinion. In the first movement Gould's playing, just as playing, is quite wonderful, but for me it's too fast - brisk risking being brusque. And what neither he nor any other player I've ever heard can equal is the sublime suppleness and resourcefulness of Serkin's rhythm in the upward scale theme that dominates the movement. Gould omits the repeat (as in all the Scarlatti sonatas), and this is a pity. I am no stickler for repeats, but this leaves the first movement as half the length of the second, which is not a reflection of its significance.

The second disc takes us into the 19th and 20th centuries. The Bizet variations and the Strauss suite of 5 pieces are new to me so far as I recall. Winters quotes with some scepticism Gould's view that the Bizet is one of the few masterpieces for solo piano in the third quarter of the 19th century. I suspect Gould has a point. By 1850 Schumann was in the grip of mental illness, Chopin and Mendelssohn were dead, I react unfavourably to Liszt, and apart from Brahms I would have a job naming many solo piano masterpieces in the ensuing 25 years. Gould's performance is simply awesome, and I hear a certain wondrous tone-quality that I otherwise associate only with Michelangeli. Time will tell whether it's really Bizet or only Gould who is impressing me, but right now I'm impressed. The Strauss pieces are charmers - what did I expect? Berg is the friendly and approachable face of atonalism, and this performance probably could not be bettered. Ditto the Scriabin and Prokofiev. These are composers I have a special liking for. Gould has the idiom of Scriabin to perfection, like Horowitz and Ogdon and far more than Ashkenazy in the other Scriabin solos I own. The Prokofiev sonata is the piece that Argerich stunned me with when I first heard her 40 and more years ago. I don't have her performance on record, but if it was better than this it must have been even better than I remember.

The caption to this review is borrowed from the admirable Mr Winters. He and I would rather be sorry than safe, but I simply feel that the caricature of Gould as an eccentric, however true it may be of his personal comportment, is nonsense in respect of his playing. One oddity - there seems to be a settled mindset among record-producers that classical virtuosi don't know their own names. Most of my records of Arthur Rubinstein call him Artur and most of my records of Pau Casals call him Pablo. I even have a record of Serkin that designates him Rudolph. Gould's highly legible signature has one n, not two, in his first name. If that makes him sound like some brand of highland malt whisky it's a brand to which I am thoroughly addicted.

There is, apparently, no end to the argument over which pieces should or should not have been included in this recording. But if one looks strictly at what it actually contains, the album provides a pretty thoughtful representation of Gould's non-Bach output and is an interesting compilation of music in its own right.

About half of Disc 1 is devoted to English virginal music by Byrd and Gibbons which Gould identified as some of his favorite music in the keyboard literature. The Scarlatti pieces are full of sparkle and imagination, and suggest that Gould might have become one of the greatest interpreters of Scarlatti's sonatas if only he had recorded more of it. So compelling is his take on the ones in D major and G major that they may never again be equalled. The Mozart Prelude and Fugue in C major is right up Gould's alley, and does quite an admirable job of filling in by proxy for the missing Bach works that previous reviewers lamented. The Haydn sonata that rounds out Disc 1 was performed toward the beginning of Gould's career at Columbia Records and stands in stark contrast, interpretatively speaking, to his re-recording of the same piece at the very end of his life.

Disc 2 begins with Bizet's Chromatic Variations, a rather anachronistic piece in Gould's discography because it provides a rare glimpse of Gould-as-virtuoso, replete with thundering octaves and shimmering scales. Richard Strauss was a composer whose piano works were championed by Gould against popular opinion, and whose music was - like that of Byrd and Gibbons - very dear to Gould's heart. The Scriabin pieces are beautifully sculpted, suggesting once again the unrealized potential in that particular slice of keyboard literature. The Berg sonata had been part of Gould's repertoire since his teenage years or earlier, and harkens back to his "Hallmark" recordings of the 1940s and 50s prior to his professional debut. Gould makes the Prokofiev sonata sound as if it's demonically possessed, such is the vitality of his playing in that piece.

In short, this album demonstrates that Gould's mastery of the keyboard repertoire extended considerably beyond the preludes and fugues of Bach. He could play absolutely anything he wanted to, so complete was his musical knowledge and piano technique, and we are fortunate that he was allowed that freedom.

Most of you have probably heard of Glenn Gould as the eccentric and brilliant Bach re-vitalizer. A listener typically gets seduced or disgusted by his playing, but never leaves anyone untouched. Recently he was voted among the top ten most influentional classical performers of the 20th century, and his ideas of the performer's role and musical wizardry has always made him very popular among musicians. Many are those pianists of our generation that have Glenn as their absolute idol. Before his landmark record of the Goldbergs Variations in 1955, Bach wasn't really considererd a serious part of the piano repertoire. It is therefore confusing and dissapointing to see that in this series so far none of his more famous interpretations, be it Bach, Beethoven, Brahms or Schoenberg are included on this record! Reading about the recording in the series sampler leaflet lets you believe that contractual quarrel stopped the publication of his most popular works. I guess Sony valued their gems too dearly. I advice anyone who is interested in getting to know Gould to instead buy the "32 Short Stories about Glenn Gould record". Still his Byrd, Scarlatti, Scriabin and Mozart on this CD are wonderful, but if you are a Gould fan on that level, you probably own those records anyway.

Gould is a great pianist, but this set misrepresents his work and shows just how dull record-label executives can be when they put their minds to it.

First, why is there only one Gould set, but three for such pianists as Horowitz and Brendel? He was at least as good; obviously Sony didn't want to deal. If so, why include Gould at all. Why wasn't Philips honest enough to write that Sony is (likely rightly) trying to keep Gould's Bach to itself?

Second, Sony could have come up with a cleverer compromise, or Philips could have suggested one. For example, Gould in concert almost always played Bach's three-part inventions without the two-part ones. The Sony disk has them both, but they could have parted with the three-parters to give the buyer a taste of Gould's Bach. Why not one or two of the Partitas, number five and six perhaps? (They were originally released together.) Or some excepts from the W.T.C.?

Third, the very fact that Philips has to compromise should have given them a chance to give us a set of brilliant lesser-known recordings. The Bizet and Haydn are by far the best examples on this set. But Gould's English Baroque recordings are very tedious. He, himself, said that the pieces sounded better in his mind than on record. Philips had a chance to introduce the buyer to Gould's Beethoven sonatas Op. 27, both of which are great. And why not include his delightful transcription of Wagner's 'Meistersinger'?

They had a chance to be clever and they chose to be dishonest and tedious, but they cheated the buyer. So don't buy this set. Buy his Goldbergs &c. on Sony.

If you only eat steak, this would be chicken; if you want to rock out with your Bach out, cease and desist with the pretentious whining and find practically any other Gould recording, which will undoubtedly have plenty of beefy Bachian goodness. Giving this compilation a one star rating for failing to be redundant is daftness incarnate, especially considering that no one would buy a Glenn Gould record without being knowledgable about classical music in general, as well as Gould's neurosis, biases, and, most importantly, his expertise in interpreting Bach. In knowing that (and being intelligent enough to read the track listing), one ought to conclude that this record is a unique opportunity to sample many other composers, composers as varied as his methods of differentiating both between them and in the midst of their particular works. In fact, if someone were to complain about something not being on these recordings, I think Gould's Beethoven was sorely neglected, but personally I'd love to have had more Scriabin (the two wonderful but short pieces leave me begging for more). But this record shouldn't be trashed because of the omissions, or the previous reviewers having had guns put to their heads, coerced to purchase a Bach-less Gould recording (Oh!! *yawn*, the horror!). There is ample contrast, even if only considering Strauss's Five Piano Pieces, and the Berg and Prokofiev piano sonatas (the latter of which is worth the price of the CD alone, given Gould's excellent exploitation of it's innately rhythmic nature, and his pacing and clarity), but especially so given the renaissance and classical music of the first disc, which is as good of an introduction to Gibbons and Byrd as I can think of. The Mozart is of course unorthodox, and the weakest of Gould's playing in this set, but not at all unenjoyable, as the be-laborers of the sacrosanct would have you believe. All in all, this is a great collection of Gould; regardless (and definitely not in spite) of material, the playing is superb and reveals the trademark juggling of counterpoint and his ability to accentuate the nuances of voice entrances.

I think this album is not good.Why?First,Because there is no Bach in this album.Although Philips put Byrd and Gibbons in this album,I think this album is not good enough.
Second,Philips can put [Gould plays Mozart or Beethoven:Piano sonatas] in this album.But they did not.This is very strange.
Only one thing I like is:Gould plays Strauss Five piano pieces.This is the reason why I bought this album is I like to enjoy Mr.Gould plays Strauss.If you like to enjoy Gould plays Strauss or Bizet,this album is a good choice.If you do not like Gould plays Strauss or Bizet,do not buy this album.

Gould was one of the most famous of Bach players, but there is no Bach here. That's like an Orson Welles retrospective which doesn't include "Citizen Kane." Were they thinking that GG fans would have his Bach already? No telling, but maybe Gould himself would have appreciated the eccentricity of this selection.

There's still plenty of good listening, though. I loved the sonatas of Berg and Prokofiev--heavy mainstream modernism, where GG was really in his element. The Haydn is very fine, and the Olde English pieces (Gibbons & Byrd) were new to me, and something of a revelation. And it all comes in a nice-looking package.