Glenn Gould obsession latest...

[Openwood]

I fear there may be some appalling Freudian explanation for my ongoing fascination with Gould - maybe a surpressed desire to make my father sound more like a harpsichord? Anyway, I was looking at this clip on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ag3atJSm ... re=related#

and I noticed the maker's name on the fallboard is covered by masking tape. It looks like the Steinway lyre above it so I wonder why they did this? I heard that Gould tinkered with the action of his pianos to make them sound more harpsichord-like; perhaps Steinway didn't want people thinking that was how their pianos were meant to sound, otherwise why tape over the name? Similarly, on the 1982 Goldberg recording he played a Yamaha but you'd never know because the fallboard's been removed. That's a bit strange, right? I've tried finding out why he did this but so far drawn a blank. If I don't find out something soon I'll be forced to go out and make some friends - still, I'm sure other people would love to hear all about it

[PianoGuy]

I noticed the maker's name on the fallboard is covered by masking tape.

Is it an old BBC recording? If so, it could simply be that at one stage the Beeb wasn't allowed to endorse or advertise products in their programmes and had the brand names masked.

For the same reason, old Blue Peter shows referred to "sticky-back plastic" rather than "Fablon" and "stick-tape" rather than "Sellotape". Old Sqezy bottles had their brand names taped over and the very obviously Tonka yellow truck on their shelves had the same treatment!

[Barrie Heaton]

If it was in the 1960's the Beeb had Bösendorfer pianos look at the cheeks of the piano


Barrie,

[sirprize]

I share your interest in Glenn Gould: if only there were more free-thinking musical personalities like him nowdays instead of all this bland and predictable conformity

Here's another quaint story about GG: apparently he only ever used one seat during all his performances and recordings. This was an 'ordinary' dining-style chair but had had its legs cut so the front ones were slightly longer than the back giving the seat a tilt backwards. Over the years the padded seat of this chair distintegrated to such an extent that it was removed and henceforth Gould performed sitting on the wooden seat-frame without a padded seat!

[Openwood]

One of my mates produced a radio programme on Gould for the beeb last year and he got to go to Canada and see the actual chair - Boy, life just doesn't much better than that in my book! He probably had to do some other stuff too but I only listened to the bit about the chair, obviously.

In the book 'Glenn Gould, a life in pictures' it says the following about The Chair:

"Because of [Alberto] Guerro's teaching style, Glenn claimed that he could only play hunched over the keyboard. Bert Gould sawed off the legs of a high-backed wooden folding chair and tapped screws about three inches long into their feet. Glenn would then adjust the screws to a height that he felt was best. He took the chair everywhere with him. When the seat of the chair eventually disintegrated, Glenn continued to use it, playing while sitting on the empty frame."

[Duffer]

I apologise if this has already been discussed but has anyone read the new book on GG and his piano:

A Romance on Three Legs: Glenn Gould's Obsessive Quest for the Perfect Piano
by Katie Hafner

There is a picture of a chair and piano on the cover shown here at Amazon which may or may not be "the" chair.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Romance-Three-L ... 29&sr=8-1

I am ordering a copy and will post a review if anyone expresses any interest.

Regards

Duffer

[Openwood]

Cool, I hadn't heard of that book - I know which website I'll be heading for as soon as I've finished writing this. And then I'll find one that sells the book. Cue Loony tunes music, closing credits etc.

[WinstonChurchill]

Openwood, were you aware that you can buy a replica of the chair?

http://www.glenngould-chair.com/

A bargain at twice the price? Well, a little more than I can bring myself to pay....yet.

Also, for any Gould fanatics reading this who haven't officially joined the movement, allow me to invite you to sign up to F Minor, the Glenn Gould mailing list:

http://gg.fminor.googlepages.com/

[Duffer]

Fools and their money are soon parted!

Duffer

[Openwood]

Alas, I doubt very much that a reproduction Gould chair would do for my playing what it did for his! I might however patent a 'Gouldotron' that hums loudly in the background whilst you perform your best-loved pieces. I can see it getting enthusiastic backing in Dragon's Den.

Thanks for the f-minor link - I'll definitely follow that up.

[joseph]

you could get the mic in your computer to convert the tenor voice of your bach fugues to the humming sound for added authenticity. isn't it more of a dee dah dee than a hum? Glen Gould was a jewel, I love his playing. Some people say his sound is spikey and abrupt. I think his sound is warm, its just that he doesn't always play legato where conventionally others might. He has the clearest voicing I have heard.

[Openwood]

He has the clearest voicing I have heard.

Exactly. I have major respect for many other pianists who have recorded the 48, but compared to his voice leading they all sound 2-dimensional. What a guy.

[sirprize]

Well, I've seen it all now.......GG's replica chair for sale through a dedicated website!! http://www.glenngould-chair.com/

GG also made some wonderfully quirky (non-musical) films

[joseph]

yeah call me a cynic, but a copy of an old dining room chair for 900 euros? Forget it!

Besides, why would you want to copy the style of another pianist? I wouldn't want to play like Glenn Gould, I want to play like me, albeit a much better version of me!

(NOTE: I mean by this that all great artists were individuals, and I believe that Gould was one of the greatest)

[WinstonChurchill]

Is there an echo in here?!

[Openwood]

Is there an echo in here?!

echo in here?!

[genaa]

hehe the whole Gould replica chair thing reminds me of an old Punch cartoon where a patient is on the operating table and the surgeon, holding a saw and about to remove the patients legs says "of course, I can't guarantee you WILL be able to paint like Toulouse-Lautrec afterwards...."