Extraordinary Canadians Glenn Gould EPUB

Glenn Gould, one of the world’s most renowned classical musicians of the twentieth century, was also known as an eccentric genius—solitary, headstrong, a hypochondriac virtuoso.

Abandoning stage performances in 1964, Gould concentrated instead on mastering the various media: recordings, radio, television, and print.

His sudden death at age fifty stunned the world, but his music and legacy continue to inspire.

Philosopher and critic Mark Kingwell regards Gould as a philosopher of music whose ideas about music governed his life.

But those ideas were contradictory, mischievous, and deliberately provocative.

Instead of a single narrative line to explain the musician, Kingwell adopts a kaleidoscopic approach.

Just as Gould played twenty-one “takes” to record the opening aria in the famed 1955 Goldberg Variations, Kingwell offers twenty-one “takes” on Gould’s life.

Each version offers a different interpretation of the man, but in each, Kingwell is sensitive to the complex harmonies and dissonances that sounded throughout the life of the great Gould.